Embassy of Despair (A DR SYOC)
by Revolution921
Summary: After years of being shrouded in despair, the world is finally beginning to heal from the tragedy. It's through the efforts of the SHSL students that people are beginning to believe in hope again. However, there is one who will not stand for this. They will personally see to it that despair rules the world once again. One Way or another... (APPS ARE CLOSED)
1. Casting Call!

"The world is changing… Changing for the better you ask?

No.

The Hope is rising again…

Despair is being overwritten.

The SHSLs are slowly bringing back hope to this world and even the world leaders are helping them….

I will not allow this mutiny!

It's a disgusting display…."

The mysterious voice turns out to gaze through the window. They look out to this new world that is being created. They sneer at the idea of hope building.

"Despair shall rule over this world…

And I will bring back the everlasting feeling…

Of Despair"

They just monotonously chuckle at the idea of the world's hope being torn bit by bit, just to fall back into their ever loved despair.

What better way than to squander the beacons of Hope themselves?

"Yes… Its perfect!

Finally, the source of the voice leans back in their chair, waiting for the new victims to arrive.

Well then…

Shall we begin?"

* * *

 **Hello everyone! This is Mod Rev speaking. This story is going to be the project of my friends and I that can only work if you submit your characters! If you are interested in submitting an OC, I have the application form under my profile bio so you can check it out. There is something I want to point out with the app. We are looking for quality over speed. This is NOT first come first serve. We are looking for well thought out and detailed OCs for the story. We will be accepting 16 character in total. Also yes, we do accept Non-Binary OCs as well. Please, send in your characters as we will greatly appreciate it! If you can also spread the news to your friends, then that would be great too!**

 **Thank you everyone for your time!**

 **~Mod Rev**


	2. Our lovely cast (so far)

**Yo, here is the selected cast so far. Apologies for the delay, but we were discussing who to pick.**

 **Please keep in mind that we are still accepting submissions and are still picking from the apps we have now. If you have already sent in an app and you don't see it here, it just means we are still discussing it. Do not be discouraged. And to those of who haven't sent any in, then please do so. We'd really appreciate it.**

 **-Mod Hero**

* * *

 **Males:**

Kokushi Hirose - SHSL Tactician

Laurent Corveleyn - SHSL Poet

Madoka Tachibana - SHSL Food Critic

 **Females:**

Ai Tachibana - SHSL Pianist

Misaki Mio - SHSL Mimic

Masashi Hayabusa - SHSL Fencer

Yumi Hirose - SHSL Mind Reader


	3. Applications are closed

Well, it is official. Applications for EoD are now closed everyone. Thank you for all who did submit OCs! We will have a final roster posted soon!

Hope you all enjoy the story!

~Mod Rev


	4. The Character Roster Is Here!

**Hello all you lovely people~**  
 **This is Mod Rev speaking and I am here to announce the character roster for Embassy of Despair!**  
 **It is as follows:**

 **Females:**

Ai Tachibana - SHSL Pianist

Misaki Mio - SHSL Mimic

Masashi Hayabusa - SHSL Fencer

Yumi Hirose - SHSL Mind Reader

Harper Atkins - SHSL Digital Artist

Bree Lawe - SHSL Prosecutor

Athena Klein - SHSL Mathematician

Hayana Shiki - SHSL Wedding Planner

 **Males:**

Tokuda Shotaro - SHSL Guitarist

Kokushi Hirose - SHSL Tactician

Laurent Corveleyn - SHSL Poet

Madoka Tachibana - SHSL Food Critic

Kagaku Rabo - SHSL Cyborg Scientist

Ryuunoske Fukuzawa - SHSL Secret Service Spy

Yamato Kazumi - SHSL Politician

Gin Zoo - SHSL Lolita Model

Iso Kurokami - SHSL Cheerleader

* * *

 **I think it looks like a very interesting cast of characters to use! I hope you all like them too! I am sorry if your OC didn't make it, but we had to cut out a few people. I quote of Satoru Iwata, "Please, understand."**

 **I will also start writing up the prologue so expect that coming out soon! I hope to see you all there! Rev, out.**

 **~Mod Rev**


	5. Prologue 1-1

***~ Shōtarō ~ location unknown**

…

…

 _Ugh…What happened…?_

 _Where in the world am I…?_

I look around. This murky darkness I'm floating in doesn't feel uncomfortable, but it certainly doesn't feel normal. Unless I'm sleeping in someone else's bed again...But then again, when did I go to sleep?

I need to wake up. Suzuka will get mad if I don't return her calls, assuming she called me in the first place. She'll definitely be worried about me, that sister of mine.

 _Wake up._

 _Wake up, Toku._

 _WAKE UP!_

I jolt awake, rift from sleep by my own subconscious, before unceremoniously banging my skull against the floor.

 _Ow..._

Rubbing my now-sore head, I get up, and look around. Apparently, I'd been sitting on one of those swivel-chairs you always see in meeting rooms, next to a rather large table in what looks to be, in fact, a meeting room.

Hang on—where in the actual _hell_ am I?

I take a breath. _Calm down, Toku, someone probably got you wasted and you ended up somewhere else...Really, really wasted. No biggie._

I scan the room for clues. The only thing that seems to be of interest is the note sitting on the table, and my name, etched in rather neat handwriting on the top of the paper, is of any indication, it's addressed to me.

I pick up the mysterious folded note and open it up to see the same neat handwriting. It looks almost like a calligrapher wrote it.

 _Dear Shōtarō Tokuda,_

 _Welcome to the center stage,_ lovely _! I see you are the Super High School Level Guitarist, so you surely_ must _be used to being in a spot like this. Being in a new place is mysterious, yet it gives you a sense of adventure,_ no _?_

Why not _take a tour of the place? I think it might serve you well to become acquainted with the_ facility _. I will see you and the others later, Mr. Tokuda._

 _Ta-ta for now!_

— _Monotee_

I pause, before reading the entire note out loud for the second time. _Yep, still as thoroughly confused as ever._ I scan through it one more time to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. _Nope, same neat handwriting, same crisp paper, same signature from one… "Monotee"?_

As my brain finally accepts that this is, indeed, not a hallucination, I get up and take a look around the room to familiarize myself with my surroundings. It looks like a large conference room, holding sixteen swivel-chairs around the giant table I woke up on. The walls are a pastel beige, there's an obviously fake plant by the doorway, and there's even a projector above me, though, judging by the broken lens, I'm sure it's not working. Seems like a decent enough place—I wouldn't mind performing to a smaller crowd here. At each opposite end of the table, there are two large throne-like seats.

"Okay… It looks like a conference room."

 _Great job Toku, you used basic reasoning skills. Have a cookie._

 **Shōtarō Tokuda—SHSL Guitarist**

 _Shōtarō stands at 5 feet, 10 inches, and weighs a total of 133 pounds. His attire is entirely black, starting with a black leather jacket with a skull and crossbones on the back. Underneath is a black T-shirt printed with the name of his band, "Super Happy Death Punch". Chains pop out of the black pockets on his black pants. To top it all off, he wears black boots and black fingerless gloves. On his back, he carries his black guitar case containing his black Fender guitar. Just about the only things on this guy that_ aren't _a nighted color are a small, pink, dyed braid in his messy black hair and his hazel eyes._

I think to myself, _There is not a single soul in sight...Guess I might as well head out of here. Out the doors we go!_

 ***~ Shōtarō Tokuda ~** **Lobby**

 _And into two people I crash!_ My mind derides, as the three of us fall to the ground.

"Ooopsies!" I hear a high-pitched, girlish laugh from above me. "Madoka, you really need to watch where you're going!"

"Ai, he crashed into us, not us into him." A cough, and I feel the mass of flesh above me heave. "Though, it really isn't anyone's fault here—I didn't know that was a door."

"Me neither! Still, we should really get up; as much as I know you'd love to have my body on you—"

The load on me significantly lightens, and seconds later, disappears entirely. The light blinds my vision momentarily before the blond blocks it with his head.

"You okay there?" he asks, holding out a hand. "There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know."

Accepting it, I am pulled to my feet, to face my two new acquaintances. Well, to face down at—they look to be somewhat shorter than I am.

"Dude, is black the new orange now or what?" the other of the two, a brunette, kids with a coquettish giggle, and I blush in return.

"It's just… Well, I'm the Super High School Level Guitarist, and this is kinda the attire I perform in, so—" I trail off when I see the two exchange a look.

"You're a Super High School Level student too?" the male enquires, and I nod. He smiles. "Oh, that's lovely! I wasn't expecting there to be more of us here. Holy mackerel, if I was going to be stuck with just Ai, I'd—"

"Finally give in to my temptations?" The girl interrupted.

He looks at her, absolutely unimpressed. "No." he deadpans, before turning to me with a more cheerful look. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister—?"

"Tokuda. Shōtarō Tokuda." I reply confidently. If anything, these two might be more socially awkward than I am, and that's saying something. "Now, who are you people?"

In hindsight, that came out pretty abrupt and rude. Luckily, I don't think they caught on.

"My name is Madoka. Madoka Tachibana. And _no,_ " he cuts me off before I can ask, implying that everyone else had already asked him the same question I was about to ask, " _Madoka is a unisex name._ You may know me better as the Super High School Level Food Critic, though if you don't, I can't exactly blame you."

 **Madoka Tachibana—SHSL Food Critic**

 _Madoka has hair of gold that flows down the base of his neck and over his ears. He is rather pale, but free of facial hair, giving him an ethereal appearance—offset by the silver ear studs and his black eyes. He is 5 feet and 7 seven inches tall, and clocks in at just over 100 pounds. He wears an unbuttoned chef's jacket, covering a black long-sleeved shirt; on his lower half, a pair of white knee-length chino pants and black loafers._

"May we endeavor to maintain a lasting friendship." Madoka concludes, shaking my hand.

"As for me, well, it's so super-duper nice to meet'cha! Always good to have a fellow musician in a place like this, ya dig?"

The girl swats away Madoka's hand, before taking mine excitedly.

"Oh, but where are my manners? I'm Ai Tachibana, the Super High School Level Pianist!"

 **Ai Tachibana—SHSL Pianist**

 _Standing 5 feet and 5 inches tall, and weighing 120 pounds, Ai has a slender, though not bone-thin frame, with shoulder-length cork-colored hair and bangs that criss-cross her eyes and forehead. She wears a long-sleeved white blouse, with a large cerulean ribbon tied over her chest, and a pair of the same-coloured ribbons adorning either side of her head. A black and white piano-patterned mini skirt stands out, with keys of either colour stitched such that it looks like she has a whole keyboard surrounding her. Below are white kneesocks leading to dark blue flats._

"Tachibana...Are you two related?" I ask after she lets go, before I facepalmed inwardly.

 _Way to go again, Toku. More basic reasoning. Have another coo—_

"Well, isn't that the million-dollar question?"

I blink. _Huh?_

Ai's face takes on a pensive look, although the dazzling smile remains. "I mean, I don't really keep in contact much with the rest of my fam. S'not like I really have a reason to, they don't ever call."

"I don't remember most of my cousins either…" Madoka admits, looking away. "As such, I don't really know if Ai and I are related, and neither does she."

"Oh," I blurt offhandedly. _Well, this was awkward. Quick, Toku, think of something nice to say._ "Uh, if it's any consolation, I think you guys can still remain friends, right?"

 _Absolutely nailed it._

He brightens up immediately. "Yeah, well, it's not like it stopped me when I first met her, slumped over a conference room table," he elaborates with a smile.

He stops when he sees my expression, and Ai catches on. "Lemme guess, you also woke up lying over a conference room table, with a note in front of you asking you to, bunny ears, 'explore'."

I nod discontentedly. "I guess that means you two don't know where we are either?"

"Unfortunately." "Not a clue in sight!" The two Tachibanas answer simultaneously.

I let out a disappointed sigh. _And when I thought we were going to get somewhere too..._

"Ah, cheer up." Madoka shrugs. "There are only so many places we can go, and so many things to find. We're probably not the only people here anyways—though I don't know how many there will be or who they are."

"Well, thanks a lot for trying, Madoka. I am going to go look around more, and see if I can find anything—or anyone—else." I state, somewhat relieved that I'm not alone in this mystery.

"Yeah, cool story, bro, we'll be around too!" Ai flips her hands. "If you see anything scary, shout as loud as you can. We'll be sure to avoid that destination as much as possible!" With that, she playfully stuck the tip of her tongue out of a corner of her mouth.

A flick to the forehead stops her short. "Don't scare him." Madoka grumbles.

"Are you _dead sure_ you two aren't related?" I snark.

"I bloody hell hope not," he continues, before a smile brightens up his features. "Seriously though, good luck out there. I really don't know what's gonna pop up, but we'll come running if you call."

"You mean _go_ running, right?"

"..."

I'm not getting a good feeling from that last part. "O-Okay…See you later." I wave goodbye, more so at the blond Tachibana than the brunette, and turn on my heels.

I walk away from Madoka and Ai with a smile. They sure seem like nice people, but from what Madoka had said, I am just a bit scared what other kind of people I will meet here. If any sort of gods govern this Earth, forbid they there be another Tokuda here. I don't think I could handle that. Unless it's Suzuka, of course, but that's another story.

* * *

 **Author's Postscript:**

 _Hey there, guys! This is Mod Rev. I am really glad that you all made it through this first part. As much as I would like to take credit for this, I really only wrote a skeleton for this chapter. This first part wouldn't have turned out so good if it weren't for Mod Hero and a friend of our's who goes by the name of SD, turning giving this the details it oh, so was needing. If you want to check out either of their pages, go look at HeroineOfDarkness and SDproductions! I hope you are liking it so far._

 _Now, I have a question for you all. Down in the comment/review section, write down who you think Tokuda will meet next. I look forward to seeing your responses and if you liked this part, give it a favorite and possibly even follow?_

 _Peace (Breaker) out people._

— _Mod Rev_


	6. Prologue 1-2

***~Shotaro ~ Lobby (North Side)**

 _Those Tachibanas sure were an "interesting" pair to say the least… Can't say I didn't get a slight laugh out of it though._

I walk around the main lobby for a little bit, until I spot another group of two - two males, in fact, both with black hair like me. The shorter of the two appeared to be shivery and jittery - he kept looking around the room with a worried expression on his face. The taller of the two guys sported a much more calm demeanor, and was busy scribbling into a notebook.

 _These must be some of the other people here...Actually, now that I think about it, just how many people are there in our general location?_

I reluctantly step up towards the two, hoping to whatever gods I prayed to before that they would not be freaks, and instead friendly people like the Tachibanas.

 _Please don't be weird people, please don't be weird people..._

As I get closer, it occurs to me that, unlike my last two acquaintances, these two men are taller than me.

"Oh my various gods! Where is Junsi? I can't find her anywhere! Laurent, do you have any idea of where she could be? _C'est mauvais!_ "

Well, 'men'; I'm starting to question the masculinity of the spiky-haired boy, as he poses the question to the somewhat taller teen, shifting his hips from side to side.

Said taller teen (Laurent, I believe?) looks to be deep in thought. "Hm…Well, I haven't the faintest clue of where she is, Gin. Perhaps she might be hiding from you?" He says with a mischievous smile, as he continues to write something down in a travel notebook.

"Not funny, Laurent! I am worried, that is all..."

 _At least the questionable one sounds like he cares…_

After watching the little exchange, I eventually gain enough confidence to take a step forward to the tw-

 _Wait…Where did the taller one just go?_

I stop dead in my tracks after noticing that one of them had disappeared into thin air. Instead, the spiky-haired effeminate one is now looking at me, with an expression of confusion on his face.

It is then I realize he's not looking at me, but behind me, as I hear a low whisper in my ear.

" _Je vois un autre est arrivé_ …"

"What the hell?!" I leap up into the air, but miss the landing and fall flat on my ass. I look like a mess on the floor, so I frantically get up and turn to confirm my suspicions - it was none other than the taller teen, who was now giving me an amused smirk.

"Haha! That turned out better than expected." He writes something down in his notebook once more. "Sorry for any confusion, I was speaking French. Although, hello there, sir."

"H-H-Hello…" _I sound like a whimpering puppy… Damn, I must sound pretty wimpy now…_

"Laurent, did you seriously have to do that? If he had peed himself, the room would smell…" The questionable one remarked, hopping back into the conversation.

 _Today just isn't my day, is it?_

"I thought it was rather amusing, but if it makes you feel any better, I am sorry for the foul play. My name, as I assume you may have heard from Gin over there, is Laurent. Laurent Corveleyn, to be precise. The Super High School Level Poet, at your disservice."

 **Laurent Corveleyn - SHSL Poet**

 _Laurent looks like the reincarnation of a young Edgar Allan Poe. He is 6 feet and 1 inch tall, weighing in at about 133 pounds. His skin is almost bone-white, with a light dusting of freckles sprinkled over his face. He appears to be thematically dark in attire, as his get-up consists of a long sleeve turtleneck, black pants, and a nice pair of black dress shoes. His black hair reaches all the way down to his shoulders, past his hazel eyes. To finish off his appearance, his face is adorned with a pair of thin-framed black glasses._

"Hm…That doesn't sound like an average name. I assume you are French? You did speak French a second ago - rather fluently I might add." _More basic reasoning. You're on a roll, aren't you, Toku? Here, have a cookie again._

"Yes, indeed, you are correct. I am glad that there are some people here who can at least recognize other nationalities." Laurent scribbles down something, before nodding at me with a smile.

 _This guy writes down everything he hears, doesn't he?_

"Well, I am glad to see that you didn't have a heart attack there." Gin, I believe his name was, offers me a hand, and I accept. After I'm back to my feet, he continues his self-introduction, "My name is Gin Zoo. I am the Super High School Level Lolita Model. Well…One-half of it at least - I come as a pair with my sister, Junsi, though I can't seem to find her anywhere…"

 **Gin Zoo - SHSL Lolita Model**

 _Gin's height is 5 feet and 11 inches, while he weighs 142 pounds. His skin looks like it's been under a tanning salon, though it might be a natural caramel, like the candy. He has a somewhat muscular frame to him; not much is there, but it is still noticeable. His spiky hair is black and reaches down to his ears. He also has navy-blue eyes, and wears a ring and bracelet combo on his left hand. His clothes are a combination of a black leather jacket that reaches down to the base of his thigh and black pants that have a flap going up to his knees, while tied down by strings. The base of the pants are buckled and cover most of his black boots._

"Um…Sorry, I don't think I've seen her. Can you give me a description of how she looks?" From how worried he seemed, I could tell he was really looking out for his sister. Definitely someone I could respect-

"HUH?!"

He responded by looking at me in shock. "You don't even know how she looks like?! Why, you _must_ have seen her somewhere! I mean, you must have seen _us_ somewhere! We are, after all, the twin Super High School Level Lolita Models!"

 _Okay, settle down there, space cowboy-_

He continued his rant by pointing an accusatory finger at me. "Not only that, but she is also the most beautiful woman in the world! And completely off-limits!"

 _Zero to a hundred, real quick…Crap, I better appease him, and fast!_

"I-I didn't mean anything by it! I was just asking how she looked like, that's all. I am not that big into fashion, if my clothes weren't already of any indication." I say, taken aback as to how defensive he got over such a simple question.

He simply glares at me, and I can see the gears in his mind turning - he's probably thinking about whether or not I was a 'threat' to him in any way. He must've picked up that I was genuine, because he began to relax a little, though he still kept a suspicious gaze on me.

"Alright, I'll choose to believe you...for now."

 _Whew…Glad that's over…For the most part._

Wanting to change the subject, I glance back over to Laurent, who appears to be be taking notes as we speak.

 _Why is he just writing about what we say? What is in there, anyways?_

"Laurent? Why do you keep taking notes?" I ask over to the taller, black haired teen as he quickly averts his gaze towards me, still writing in the process.

"I am taking field studies. You never know when this might come in handy for future situations, such as this one. If we find a solution to this problem, we can mend it quickly and without much effort."

 _He does have a point. Why hasn't the rest of humanity thought of that?_

"That being said, I would recommend you acquaint yourself with the others." Clicking his pen, he stashes away his notebook, apparently done. "Since we're all here, we might as well find out just what we're getting into."

"That sounds like a good idea." _And a good chance to get away from you people._ "I guess I should be taking my leave. I will talk to you guys later!"

 _Smile and wave, Toku...just smile and wave._

"Alright! See you later, mister… Oh, hang on! We never even got your name!" Gin yells after me. I turn back to see him catching up with an exasperated look on his face, that gives the impression that he's mentally face-palming himself.

"Oh, I'm sorry! It's Shotaro Tokuda, though you can just call me Toku. I'm the Super High School Level Guitarist, in case you were wondering." I say back, tapping the guitar case on my back for good measure, before sweat dropping.

 _Annnnnnd now for a mental facepalm of my own. Obvious talent is obvious._

"Well, it was a pleasure to meet you, Monsieur Toku. May we see each other again sometime." Laurent smiles, as he says his farewells.

"Have a good day now, Toku!" Gin also gives a warm smile, as they both wave me off.

"Peace out guys!" I walk away from the scene, conflicted on what I am supposed to be feeling.

 _I don't know if I should be scared, embarrassed, or just a mixture of both? The world may never know…_

 ***~Shotaro ~ Dorm Hallway**

As I enter the new location, I noticed that while it looked similar to the previous ones, there were a few differences as well. For starters, it was a hallway with a good number of rooms. As I walked down it, I noticed a continuation in the back wall. What I found strange, however, was the fact that instead of worded labels of who the individual rooms belonged to, there were flags of European countries, such as England, Switzerland, etc.

 _Huh, strange way to label rooms. Then again, this whole situation is rather strange to begin with, what else is new?_

I continued making my way down the hall, and spot two people towards the end of it. They look rather similar from afar, although it was pretty clear that one was female while the other was not.

 _Then again, quoth memory, what else is new-_

"Yes, we are indeed male and female, Mr. Tokuda, or as others call you, Toku." The female of the two suddenly answers, looking at me directly.

 _WHAT THE HELL?! How did she know what I was thinking?! Heck, how does she know my name?!_

 _Am I talking out loud again?!_

She responds by chuckling softly with a shy smile. "Oh, no need to be alarmed. I was just reading your mind. No harm, no foul. You weren't thinking of anything wrong, so I see no trouble with it." The mysterious girl answers.

 _I don't know if I am entirely comfortable with someone being able to read my thoughts constantly._

"Don't worry, bud. You'll get used to it eventually. We all do." The male voice of the duo addresses me this time.

"Don't tell me you're a psychic too..."

 _I would be even more uncomfor- Wait… I should probably just stop thinking about this entirely. She can hear me._

"And no, I am not a psychic. Only Yumi here is the one who can do that. I just saw that look on your face. Trust me, it happens a lot more than you think… Or lack thereof."

"Well then…I guess that's reassuring, if only mildly. I would give you guys a introduction, but she already did that for me, so..." I trail off again.

Yumi let out a slight giggle. "Hehe… Yes, it's an honor Toku. I see you are the Super High School Level Guitarist? That sounds very interesting. Maybe Kokushi and I can listen to you play one day?"

I was a bit shocked that someone actually asked me directly. That is a rare occasion in and of itself. Usually my, 'oh so wonderful' manager takes care of all the gigs, so to have two people want to listen to me play...

"I-It would be a p-pleasure! Not many people ask me to play for them…Thanks. It means a lot to me when someone asks to hear my music." I reply, with a newfound warmth in my heart. It's always a great feeling to be asked to play personally.

"It would be interesting to hear ya play. I might as well take a listen if the opportunity presents itself…" Kokushi at least is trying to sound sympathetic. Although, it looks like he rather be doing something else...

 _Thanks Kokushi… At least he isn't being totally aloof…_

Before the conversation continues any further, Yumi lets out a small gasp in realization. "Oh, we almost forgot to introduce ourselves! My name is Yumi Hirose and this is my brother, Kokushi Hirose." She said, gesturing to both herself and her brother. "I am the Super High School Mind Reader, while he is the Super High School Tactician."

 **Yumi Hirose - SHSL Mind Reader**

 _At 5 feet and 7 inches, while weighing 127 pounds, Yumi has tanned skin and an oval shaped face. Her dirty-blonde hair reaches down to her shoulders, while her eyes are a pale shade of forest-green. Her clothing consists of an average purple T-shirt and blue jeans. She has a cream colored jacket tied around her waist and her hair tied back with a purple headband. Finally, she finishes the outfit with brown sandals._

 **Kokushi Hirose - SHSL Tactician**

 _Kokushi stands at the same height and weighs the same amount as his sister at 5'7" and 127 pounds. No wonders they are twins. He has tanned skin and an oval face just like Yumi, but on his right hand, you can notice a large scar. He has wild, dirty-blond hair that reaches down to the center of his neck, and parts for his jade-green eyes in the front. For his attire, he wears a white shirt, a black hoodie and blue skinny jeans. He also wears black and white tennis shoes with white socks._

Judging from how similar the two looked, and from the fact that they are actual siblings, I think it's safe to assume that they're twins.

 _And yet another amazing deduction...Fantastic. Have yet another cookie._

"Hehe, I see you are prone to self-depreciating jokes? Don't worry, it happens to everyone." Yumi smiles a little bit as she, what I think is at least, tries to reassure me.

"Yeah, that about sums up the story of my life…"

"Why do you sound so surprised that we're related, though?"

I scratch the back of my head and chuckle a little bit. "Let's just say there are another pair of people here with the same last name, and yet-"

"They're not related? Fascinating…" Kokushi remarks as he preoccupies himself with taking in his surroundings.

 _Not much of a people person I take it...Although I'm no better._

"Well, it was nice meeting you guys, but I think I'm going to go look for some more people. Goodbye for now!" I smile and wave, as I take my leave and continue the hunt for another group to socialize with.

 _Just please don't be more weird people…_

 **Author's Postscript:**

 _Hi! Mod Mákina here. Me and the rest of mod team hope you enjoyed this chapter, and feel compelled to continue Embassy of Despair! I'm kinda new to this kinda thing, but I hope to be able to contribute more to future chapters. Congrats to everyone who got their characters accepted, and I look forward to writing for them in future!_

 _Yo! Hero here, along with the others to give you readers the next part of the prologue. Our hero Toku braves the mysterious building, in hopes of finding answers. Only to find more interesting characters! Thank you once again for submitting your OCs. You know who you are. And once again, we thank our good friend SD for helping us out. We really appreciate you!_

 _Hey there, Mod Rev here. Hopefully you all enjoyed this chapter! Sorry for it being released a bit later than expected, but it's out now. I wouldn't have been able to do it without Hero, Makina and SD's help though. I have the same question for you as last time. Who do you think Toku will meet next? I hope to see you all in the next chapter! Peace (Breaker) out people!_

 _~Mods Mákina, Hero and Rev_


	7. Prologue 1-3

**~* Shōtarō ~ Cafeteria**

I walk through the rest of the hallway, and find myself back at the lobby. Choosing a new location to explore, I stop in front of two large metal doors. Pushing them open reveals yet another hallway - this one shorter than the last, because I can see its end.

I step into a room that looks like a cafeteria of some sorts - or perhaps a dining hall? In any case, a row of food stalls occupy most of the space to the left, ranging from standard-fare Japanese to quite a few foreign brands - there's even a MgRonald's here, which wouldn't be too out of place, I guess. To the right, there's a small stage, with one microphone attached to a portable speaker - presumably for announcements. The rest of the area is occupied by cheap, metal dining tables and chairs that I'm pretty sure my last school used as well.

It does seem like your regular cafeteria, in more ways than one; the walls have presumably been repainted a light beige, while the tiled floor appears to have been freshly washed - and freshly disturbed, if the voices are of any indication.

"NO!"

The source of that loud interjection appears to be coming from the center of the room. Glancing over, I spot two people having what looks to be an argument of some sort. In the back, there seems to be a group of three, who are alternating between small-talk, and keeping to themselves.

 _I might as well go see what's happening with these two first. Arguing isn't really going to get us anywhere._

The closer I get, the more audible the conversation becomes, and the more confused I get.

"But Kaggy! You _are_ a nice person. You don't have to keep putting on such a defensive look!" The purple-haired female of the two sounds almost like she's aggressively yelling her compliments at him.

The other, a gray-haired male, scoffs at her argument. "Tch. Don't be absurd. I am a mad scientist after all." He proceeded to glare at his companion, which was probably his way of signifying displeasure. "I don't know what you see in me, so can you please stop with the flattering remarks already?"

 _Wait a moment…Why would someone deny a compliment? Let alone when it's being pushed so hard by someone so insistent?_

"Either way, we appear to have another one present with us. Now is not the time to continue this drabble." The gray-haired teen turns towards me, with the girl following suit.

I flinch slightly, taken aback by their sudden change of interest and being put on the spot. "O-Oh, hey there! H-How are you guys?" I say nervously, hoping they don't decide to pull me into their argument.

"I am doing very fine! How about'cha?" The girl asks me. Luckily, she's dialled back the chipper tone of her voice to a much more preferable volume than before, so my eardrums only rang for a second.

"F-Fine...Is everything alright over here?" I take a deep breath, and stop my teeth chattering. "You guys seemed like you were arguing, but then again…Well, you have to admit, it sounds like an argument a married couple would have."

Blank stares all around, especially from the gray-haired male.

… _Did I just say that out loud? Oh, good going, Toku, have a cookie - this guy's probably going to shove it up my-_

"You thought we were married? Oh, how cute!" The lilac-haired girl exclaims, smiling while holding her hands together next to her face. "I mean, I definitely wouldn't mind it, give or take a couple days!"

The gray-haired one however, seems amused in a completely different way altogether. "Ha! Me? Married to her? Don't be ridiculous…Nobody would ever marry someone as crazy as me!"

As if to prove a point, he covered his face, before letting loose a loud, almost maniacal laugh.

 _Okay there, Kilroy… Settle down now. Lower the insanity levels._

The purple-haired girl blushes as she shakes her head, smiling warmly at the male, before turning to me with a shy expression. "D-Do you think we look…cute together?" she asks, twiddling her thumbs.

 _By Jove, she sounds like she actually wants that to happen…Sure, I ship it._

"I uh, well…"

 _Open mouth, insert foot._

"I honestly have no idea what to say. Romance isn't my forte, you see."

The gray-haired teen gives an almost expectant look now. "I won't be satisfied until you give us an answer. Out with it, boy!" He demands.

I jump in surprise for a few seconds at the sudden yell. "Meep! I-I-I… I think you guys could work…? I don't really know…Like I said, my specialty isn't in the lovey-dovey stuff…I'm just the Super High School Level Guitarist."

The lavender-haired girl's blush went from a tinted pink to crimson red. "R-Really‽ Oh my gosh, I feel so proud of myself! I've always wanted to plan a wedding I can call my own! I only plan everyone else's though…"

She shakes her head, before a thought comes to her. "You're a Super High School Level too?! That makes all three of us! Oh gosh, I'm so super happy to meet you and- oops! I was so caught up in my rant that I forgot to introduce myself! Hi there, new friend-for-life, I'm Hayana Shiki, the Super High School Level Wedding Planner!"

 **Hayana Shiki - SHSL Wedding Planner**

 _With violet-colored hair that reaches all the way down to her shoulder blades, and an all-too-adorable face to match, Hayana is a radiant beauty, standing at 5 feet 4 inches, while weighing in at about 130 pounds. Dressed in a white, silk blouse, black leggings and black tennis shoes, her concession to accessories appear to be the pink bow in her hair, and the pair of contacts that change her eye color to purple._

The gray-haired teen just shakes his head. "I guess I am obliged introduce myself as well. My name is Kagaku Rabo. Be warned whenever you hear that name, for it spells great doom to all that utter it without abandon. I am the Super High School Level Mad Scientist!"

He breaks into yet another maniacal peal of laughter, before silencing himself and elaborating, "Though, if you would prefer technical terms, then I am the Super High School Level Cyborg Scientist."

 **Kagaku Rabo - SHSL Cyborg Scientist**

 _The scientist is around 5 feet and 11 inches tall, and he weighs about 135 pounds. His notably-gray hair also reaches down to his shoulder blades, but the front side partially covers his right eye. He also wears colored contact lenses, though each one bears a different colour: a blue one in the right eye, and a red one in the left. He wears an unbuttoned, messy white lab coat overtop of a gray t-shirt and black, loose pants. To finish the look, he wears black tennis shoes as well - almost typical for a scientist of his apparent caliber._

 _No wonders he acts all crazy…He must really be pushing for the whole "mad scientist" thing. His name sounds too literal to be true, too._

 _Seriously, it's got to be a pseudonym. What kind of future-seeing parents would name their kid 'Science Lab' in anticipation?_

"Hm…Interesting titles you both have. Well, my name is Shōtarō Tokuda, but just call me Toku. Everyone else already does. As said, I'm the Super High School Level Guitarist. It's a pleasure to meet you both."

 _Just roll with it, Toku. The fewer arguments over romance, the better._

"Oh, a musician? Do you perform at weddings? We can do business!" Hayana offer excitedly.

"Well um, sure. Why not? I would have to ask the rest of the band though." A part of me wonders if my band mates would actually want to perform at someone's wedding, or if any newlyweds would even want us to perform at their wedding.

 _I'm betting nobody's gonna want to hear our punk rock at a wedding of all places. Seriously, what are we even going to sing?_

The back of my mind echoes back, _I chimed in, with a 'haven't you people ever heard of, closing the goddamn doors'-_

"Hell yeah! Well, just take your time with it! I'm always willing to listen to an offer if it presents itself. Just tell me when you get your approval, yeah?" Hayana gives me a warm smile and rocks on her feet.

Kagaku simply rolls his eyes at us. "You people and your times of merriment…All I ever need is my robots to keep me occupied."

"You know that's not good for your health, Kaggy! You should know better than that," Hayana complained with a frown, her cheeks puffing up as well. In context, imagine the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man frowning. That's what she looks like.

"Not with the drabbling again…" Kagaku turns back towards Hayana, looking like he is ready to restart the argument.

 _I guess that's my cue to leave._

"I think I am just going to leave now…" I whisper as the two pick up where they left off.

 _I swear, they act like a married couple…_

I slowly creep my way out of their line-of-sight. Once I know they're no longer focused on me (whether that's a good thing or bad thing is up for grabs), I walk back towards the group of three in the back.

"Hey, look! Another one joins the party. Welcome to the world of pure and utter silence. Where nobody has any idea as to what they should talk about." The girl sitting in the middle of the trio addresses me.

 _Well, that was quick._

"Hey yourself. I was just trying to get out of the conversation over there, so I thought I might as well come over here." I point back over towards Hayana and Kagaku, their voices still audible.

"Tell me about it…They have been at that for two hours now..." This time, the male with the blue suit on the left speaks up sardonically, sounding as if he was exhausted from their bickering-

 _Wait._

" _Two hours?_ They've been arguing for _that_ long?" I ask, flabbergasted by this information. Amazing how two people who have probably just barely met can find something to argue about for that long.

The female flicks her trilby upwards, before resting her head in her hands. "Literally. Someone sign the marriage papers already."

The blond male on the right nods in agreement, but still has a patient smile. "You must admit though, they do seem to make quite a pairing."

The one on the left speaks up once more. "That's certainly one way to put it. Also, I just realized we've been here the same amount of time as they have, and all we've been doing is watching them take the piss out of each other."

 _...That's an expression? Sheesh, they must be_ really _bored if that's the only thing they can bother to do all day._

"Well, at least we can finally do something productive now that someone else has arrived. Hi, my name is Bree Lawe, otherwise known as the Slim Shady of this entire place." The girl smirks as she tips her trilby at me. "I am the Super High School Level Prosecutor, but no, I will not stand up to shake your hand."

 **Bree Lawe - SHSL Prosecutor**

 _Standing at a tall 6 feet even and clocking in at a respectable 119 pounds, Bree has porcelain-white skin that almost looks like it's glowing. Her choice of attire is rather...interesting, to say the least, featuring a black T-shirt with a rainbow-colored rib cage patterned on it, black buckle pants held up by black-and-white-striped suspenders, and the continuously-mentioned striped black trilby, which rests on top of her head. Her black hair reaches down to just over her cerulean-blue eyes, and a light dusting of freckles dot her nose. To finish off her look, she wears white, black, and gray Converses._

 _Prosecutor? She looks more fitted in the scene crowd than a courtroom. Is she lying to me?_

"Now, don't you get any ideas, young man. I may not look the part, but I am a master at my profession. Haven't lost a single case out of the one hundred I have done." She says matter-of-factly, as if she wasn't boasting about herself but instead giving a lecture. "So buddy, just don't go doing anything stupid. and you won't wind up in prison."

...I am now a bit scared as to what she can do. Not that I'm actually a delinquent or anything, but just in case, I'll be even more law-abiding.

I quickly try to change the course of conversation over to the other two. "S-So…Who are _you_ guys..?"

"Well, my name is Ryūnosuke Fukuzawa. I probably shouldn't be telling you or anyone else this, but I'm the Super High School Level Secret Service Spy. I can't say much more than that though, as that would violate the rules of my contract. However, if there's one other thing you can know about me, it's that most people call me Ryu."

 **Ryūnosuke Fukuzawa - SHSL Secret Service Spy**

 _The self-proclaimed spy is 6 feet tall and weighs 137 pounds. Clearly, he You could say he has the look of the average spy out of the movies. His hair is blond, being long on the top and short on the sides. He is lean yet muscular, which can be observed through his blue double breasted suit. He also wears dark blue business pants for his bottoms, with black dress shoes. To finish his look, he wears black semi-rimless glasses to help the nearsightedness of his light blue eyes._

 _Wow. I've never met an actual spy. I'd ask more about him, if I weren't afraid of what might happen if I do._

"A spy, huh? That must be exciting." I say, hoping not to look like I'm trying to pry into this.

Ryu shrugs. "It's not a job for the lighthearted, I can tell you that. It does have its pros and cons though." Ryu lays the facts out, not sounding like he would like to continue this phase of the conversation.

"Oooookay. Well, at least I can call you Ryu, then?"

A good-natured shrug. "Shor- I mean, Sure you can."

I then turned my attention to the remaining member of this trio, in hopes of getting someone more talkative.

The blond on the right gives me a friendly smile as he gets up, steps forward and offers his hand out. "Hello there. I apologize for any rudeness on our end. I am Yamato Kazumi, the Super High School Level Politician. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

 **Yamato Kazumi - SHSL Politician**

 _Just like his other two acquaintances, Yamato is 6 feet tall. He also weighs in at 142 pounds, and certainly looks more muscular than either of them. His golden-blond hair reaches down to the center of his neck, and falls over his eyebrows, with a few fringes that frame either side of his face, which holds a nice smile and a pair of soft violet eyes. His clothing consists of a blue blazer over a black dress shirt. He has on a yellow tie and wears an eagle pin on his left breast pocket. To finish off his distinguished appearance, he wears dress pants and dress shoes in the same shade of black._

I smile to the group, contrary to my very nervous feeling on the inside.

 _Oh god… They are all part of the government… It's a conspiracy, I tell you. They are all the same height too, at six feet. Six divided by two is three. A triangle has three sides. There are three of them here._

 _Illuminati confirmed._

"W-Well, it was nice meeting you all. I h–hope you have a good day!" I quickly dash away from the trio, afraid Ryu was going to kidnap me or something. I didn't want to stay long enough to find out.

"I wonder what he's all jumpy about?" I hear Bree ask to the other two as I walk away.

"I have no clue." Yamato answers with a curious look, wondering the same thing.

"The world may never know." Ryu ends the phrase.

 _Today keeps getting weirder and weirder…_

 **Author's Postscript:**

 _Heya, this is Mod Mákina here. I think I'm starting to get the hang of things now, and I'm glad people are continuing to read EoD. Next chapter, we'll be bringing you that last five characters on the roster! Maybe Toku will be lucky enough to meet some "normal people" next time. x) Either way, it's gonna be sweet. Mákina out!_

 _Yo, Hero here with a new chapter and a new batch of colorful characters! Poor Toku, he can never seem to find normal people. Oh well, these weirdos are what make the story interesting. And just wait till you meet the rest. I can guarantee you will have a good time._

 _Hello there everyone! Its Mod Rev here to say thank you all for reading this chapter. We really appreciate it. If you liked what you read, maybe consider dropping the story a follow and favorite? It would really help us out a lot and it helps get the story out there. I guess if you just use process of elimination, then you know who is up for the next chapter, so I have two new questions for you. How many references do you think we squeezed in there and do you think Toku will meet a normal person? Like always, can't thank our beta reader SD enough! We officially added him onto the Mod Team as our Official Beta Reader. Well, I hope you all have a good day now!_

 _I'm here too~ Please, let us know what you think ^.^ -Pen_

 _Salutations, this is Mod Keima. I'm the main spelling and grammar corrector and resident Grammar-Nazi of the bunch. I've proofread Prologue-1, and this chapter you have just read. I hope you have had a smooth read without any grammatical errors bumping you off track. I'll be writing the next portion of this story, so stay tuned for that! Have an excellent day. P.S.: Have you ever noticed how most "mad scientists" are just mad engineers?_

 _Official Beta Reader SD here. That's a no - science comes in many forms. I know one mad scientist who prefers the art of chemistry - and poison. No, Hero, put that kitten sniper away. Staph._

— _Mods Mákina, Hero, Rev, Pen, Keima and SD_


	8. Prologue 1-4

***~ Shōtarō ~ Kitchen**

 _Okay, that was definitely a close encounter of the weird kind. Eurgh, I need to get away from everyone for a bit. Why are all the people here so…peculiar? And why are they all Super High School Levels like me?_

The thought crosses my mind in a brief flash as I rush into a nearby room haphazardly. Embarrassingly as it is to admit, I'm probably still not used to this whole normal-people talking stuff.

As I enter the new location, I take notice of my surroundings. This room is somewhat smaller than the cafeteria I was in before, and appears to be a kitchen. The large industrial fridge, stove and oven further prove that point. The walls themselves are of an off-white color, with neatly lined wooden shelves that are stocked to the brim with an assortment of spices and other food products. Like the cafeteria, the floor is laid with clean, white tiles, but this time, they're checkered with forest-green ones.

It takes me a few seconds to realize I'm not the only person in the kitchen.

There before me stands a blonde girl, gazing at me quizzically, before turning away to look at something else. I notice that while she's a bit shorter than me, the sweater she's wearing looks several sizes too big for someone as svelte as her.

She continues to stare at the walls, looking like she's checking for something, but what?

 _Just when I thought I could be all by myself...Here we go all over again._

I nervously give the girl a small, awkward wave. "Oh, uh, hey there. I didn't think anybody else would be back here."

With an impassive look on her face, the girl replies to me in a quiet voice. "Hello. What brings you here…?"

"I was a bit…overwhelmed by everyone else, so I figured I could come here to be alone for a while." I answer honestly. I need some room to wrap my head around this whole situation, and the strange looks this girl's now giving me isn't going to be any help.

"Oh," the girl responds, with a vague expression on her face, somewhere in the middle between bored, intrigued, distracted, and sad. "Well then, should I leave? Or should I introduce myself?" Her voice is sort of breathy, and I can't really tell if she's mad at me or not.

"Oh, no! I didn't mean that at all! By all means, go ahead." I reassure her.

"Alright," she answers, before taking a deep breath. "My name is Athena Klein. I'm the Super High School Level Mathematician. Pleased to meet you."

 **Athena Klein - SHSL Mathematician**

 _The quiet girl before me has past-shoulder-long blonde hair, with some of it fluffily tied to the left in a small cowlick. She has clear blue, dreamy eyes, and wears a pair of rather strong red glasses. She stands at 5 foot 8 inches, and weighs in at 130 pounds. She wears a black blouse with a chocolate-colored sweater over the top, which has a checkered diamond pattern on the front. She also wears baggy jeans, and a pair of dark red sneakers._

 _A mathematician? Please don't tell me she's going to throw random sums and algebra notations at me… Math is definitely not my strong suit._

I give Athena a blank stare for a few moments, until the sensible part of my brain realizes I'm not doing anything. "U-Uh…Oh! Yeah, pleased to meet you too! I'm Shotaro Tokuda, but you can call me Toku for short. I'm the Super High School Level Guitarist."

Athena gives me a small, yet pleasant smile as I give my introduction. "A musician...that's lovely. Also, I want to point out—Have you noticed that you could go through this entire floor without having to go through the same door twice? Minus the dorms and this kitchen, of course. They only have one door each."

She seemed to be a bit happy and excited about it, which was nice. Before I could speak up about it though, suddenly, in the background, a voice sounds out—and it's mine?!

"Oh wow, I've gotta try that some time!" the voice exclaims, just like how I've heard my own voice in recordings.

 _Wait, what the hell? There isn't two of me!...Or I at least hope not._

Athena seems to have heard the new voice as well, and she turns towards the sink. She begins to open her mouth when another voice, practically a carbon copy of hers, speaks out. "I know that you're in there. Come out now."

I take a few tentative steps towards the cabinet underneath it and slowly open it. In a sudden flash, someone pops out, which sends me flying backward, tumbling to the floor.

"What the serious hell?!" I shout at the person who jumped out at me, like a cat pouncing at a laser.

Breaking character from Athena's voice, the girl responds with, "I see I got you there, slick! Waiting under that sink for a half an hour was totally worth it!"

"And who might this be?" Athena asks, apparently unfazed, looking down slightly to face the little kid who just tumbled out from the cupboard.

The girl smiles mischievously as she puffs out her chest, looking rather proud of herself. "I am anyone and everyone at the same time. I am the one who you will never place a voice to, but just for now, I'll give you the privilege of knowing my true name! And it is Misaki Mio!" Misaki spreads out her fingers as she puts her hand on top of her chest. "The Super High School Level Mimic!"

 **Misaki Mio - SHSL Mimic**

 _Standing at 4 foot 9 inches, Misaki is incredibly short for someone of her assumed age, and weighs in at 95 pounds. Her black hair passes her brown eyes and reaches down to her shoulder in a spiral style. She wears a red coat with a grey T-shirt underneath it. Her pants are black and she wears a pair of black slip on shoes. Her right shoe has a blue flower on top of it._

 _Now we have a mimic...Whatever gods are up above, forget saving me, I'm a lost cause. Just strike me down with a bolt of holy lightning._

"And I'm Shōtarō Tokuda, the Super High School Level Guitarist. But you can call me Toku for short." I say rather confidently, my mind and body separate.

"Eh?!"

Misaki lets out a hearty laugh at my reaction, which takes me by surprise, honestly. "I've already heard your introduction, remember? I was mimicking you, silly-willy!"

"Oh...riiiiiiight, of course you were." I say awkwardly, not entirely sure I'll ever be able to get used to that. With my luck, probably not.

 _Well, this has taken a weird turn. Time to bail._

"Well, I guess I'll see you guys later!" I say, backing out of the room awkwardly, trying my best to smile.

 _I gotta get out of here._

"Oh, bye, Toku." Athena says quietly, giving a small wave.

"Oh, bye, Toku." Misaki mimics in her voice, prompting the Mathematician to stare at her oddly before I turn around and flee.

 ***~ Shōtarō ~ Lounge**

I leave the kitchen and cafeteria to re-enter the hallway, glad to get away from that mimic. I've met some weird people these few hours, but she probably took the cake - and ate it too.

I walk down there for a bit before coming across a room full of comfy-looking chairs and couches, with a large coffee table in the middle. It appears to be a lounge of some sort, and the voices in my vicinity partially confirm that assumption.

It looks like wherever I go, there's bound to be people, but I soon realize that these are people I haven't met before, talking amongst themselves on the other side of the room. I overhear their conversation.

"Ooooh! I've never heard of a _guy_ being a cheerleader before," says a girl with blonde hair. "Don't people ever bully ya for that?"

The guy in question, whose azure hair is kept in a braided ponytail, smirks confidently. "Not after they've seen me cheerleading! No team I've ever cheered for has ever lost!" He shouts energetically.

 _A male cheerleader? The weirdness never ends._

"Hey, we've got company." A...Girl? Guy? I don't even—

The third person points at me, and the they all turn to look. The center of attention shifts from the conversation straight to yours truly, and I flicnh.

"I, uh…"

I have talked to way too many people today. More than I usually have to talk to.

 _I really need to work on my people skills…_

"Oh, hey there, bud! What's your name?" asks the blonde girl with a smile.

Doing my best to shake off my shyness, I clear my throat and give the umpteenth introduction of the day.

"I'm Shōtarō Tokuda, the Super High School Level Guitarist. But everyone just calls me Toku." Repeated intro is repeated.

 _I've introduced myself more times today than I have in the last five years. Congrats, Toku, you've levelled up from a social hermit to just socially awkward._

Luckily for me, the others aren't aware of my mental berating and just smile kindly.

"Well, I guess it's my turn to introduce myself, eh?" The blonde-haired girl from before points to herself with her thumb. "I'm Harper Atkins, but most people just call me Harp, 'cause, ya know, words with more than four letters are hard."

Smiling and giggling a little madly, she continues. "I'm the Super High School Level Digital Artist."

 **Harper Atkins - SHSL Digital Artist**

 _Her height is 5'3", and she weighs in at 108 pounds. She has bright blue eyes and blonde hair, most of which is relatively short , except for two long locks of hair that flow down to her chest. She wears an off-black purplish-blue button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Along with it is a bluish-green tie with two silver clips attached, a pair of green jeans, washed-out green and off-white shoes, and a bright green watch on her left arm._

 _Her choice of clothing is as silly as she is..._

"So Toku, d'ya have any idea where we all are?" She asks, with a little hope in her tone. The other two look at me expectantly as well.

 _So they don't know either…Dammit. So much for getting answers._

I regretfully shake my head. "Sorry, but that's what I'm trying to figure out too."

Their expressions drop somewhat at my answer. Now I feel bad. Like it was my job to find out what was going on and I failed. Not a great feeling.

The male with the unique hairstyle and color lets out a sigh of resignation. "Well, it's official. Nobody here knows where we are or what's going on. Fan-fucking-fastic." He says out loud before turning back to me. "Sorry about that, it's just we've been awake for quite some time now and we're nowhere close to finding answers."

 _That must be frustrating. I'm almost at my wits' end just from being here for a couple of hours._

"Well, now that we've established that we're all on the same boat, let's continue our introductions." The second blond...blonde...the third person from before suggests. They take my hand and begin shaking it, while moving uncomfortably closer to me. "Masashi Hayabusa, the Super High School Level Fencer, at your beck and call. A pleasure."

 **Masashi Hayabusa - SHSL Fencer**

 _Masashi stands about 5 feet 7 inches and weighs about 122 pounds. Her face has soft features framed by blonde hair, giving her a rather androgynous look, though still giving a fierce impression, due to the black dashes underneath her eyes. She wears contacts that recolor her eyes green. She wears a full-white suit complete with lime-green tie, and a salmon-colored dress shirt underneath it, as well as white dress shoes._

 _I'm confused. Is this person a girl? I'm afraid to ask._

Masashi, still holding onto my hand, shoots me a smile than seems a bit suggestive. "Don't worry, Toku, I'm sure we'll find answers soon. No need to worry."

 _When people say that kind of stuff is when I worry the most…At least they seem friendly._

"Um, nice to meet you." I say, pulling my hand back. Something tells me that whoever they are or what gender they truly are, they can be a bit too friendly.

The only confirmed male then gently pushes Masashi away, putting himself in front of me. "Ignore Masashi, she's just a big flirt—at least, I think it's 'she'. Pretty harmless though…probably." He says jokingly, before offering his own hand to me. "The name is Iso Kurokami! That's I-S-O, Ku-Ro-Ka-Mi! I am the Super High School Level Cheerleader and it is my distinct pleasure to meet you, Toku!"

 **Iso Kurokami - SHSL Cheerleader**

 _Iso is not as tall as most males at the age of 18, but he is still an average size among the others. He stands at 5 feet and 8 inches, while weighing 122 pounds. He has a very lean frame from all of the exercising he does. He has a few freckles dotting his face, and noticeable heterochromia_ — _his right eye is as azure as his hair and his left a muted teal. His hair is in a braid that reaches down to the base of his shoulders. His peach complexion and tan undertones are matched with his clothing of a black leather jacket, a pink T-shirt, jeans and black running shoes._

 _Huh. This guy is all kinds of colors, isn't he?_

I take hold of his hand and shake it. "Pleasure to meet you too, Iso. And, um, sorry for not having the information you were looking for. I just woke up not too long ago."

Iso just smiles and waves off my apology. "Don't worry about it. If nobody else knew, then what made me think you would?"

"Hold on a second, bud," says Harper, inserting herself back into the conversation. "You literally just woke up?"

I nod in confirmation. "Yeah, like, a couple of hours ago, actually. I was the only other person in that conference room when I came to."

"That means that everyone must be up." Masashi states, seeming to ponder something. "Surely we should be getting answers soon."

"I would hope so. This whole thing doesn't seem right to me in any case." Iso says, giving a suspicious glance around the room.

 _He has a point. Everything about this makes me nervous. Waking up in a mysterious place, meeting strangers, not knowing what was going on. I really have a bad feeling about this, almost like—_

A loud noise that sounds like someone bumping a microphones fills the room.

 **"Why, hello there, my lovelies! This is your host, Mr. Peace calling. Everybody please report back to the main conference room because we have some things to discuss. Till then!"**

The sound suddenly cuts off and everybody glances at each other, wondering what was happening.

I am almost startled by what just occurred and try to think of words to say, but nothing's coming out.

Eventually, our moment of silence is broken when Iso decides to speak up. "Well then…I think the main conference room is going to be where our answers lie. Let's go." Iso starts walking towards the direction of the lounge's doors and gestures for the others, including me, to follow.

Masashi shoots Harper a strange look, but she doesn't return it. She isn't really paying attention. It isn't long before they too go out the door.

I stare at them as they all walk off, before I take a step in the same direction, a foreboding feeling inside of me.

 _Something tells me I'm going to have a bad time..._

 **Author's Postscript:**

 _Hey there! Mod Mákina here. Sorry for the delay of writing up the final chapter of the prologue. Writing this ended up being a bit of a doozy. Nonetheless, we got it done and now we can get down and dirty with the main story. I played a more active role in the writing of this chapter. I just need to stop being afraid of putting my thoughts down on paper. Anyway, I and all the other mods hope you enjoy this chapter and continue reading. Mákina out!_

 _Yo! Hero here again with the final part of introducing the characters. Unless of course I'm missing someone, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Once again, thank you SD for beta reading! Our apologies for taking a while to get this chapter out, but everyone became busy this past week. Hopefully you guys enjoy this chapter anyway! Quick question. Do any of you have a favorite character yet, not counting your own? If so, please leave a review to who it is and why. Happy reading!_

 _Hello there everyone, it's Mod Rev. Again, sorry for taking a while to make this chapter. Things got a little hectic there for a bit on my end at least. Surprisingly, I didn't do that much this chapter. I mainly just proofread and wrote the description of the characters. I do hope you all liked this chapter. Now I have another batch of questions for you all now that everyone(?) has been introduced. Who is this mysterious Peace person? Who do you think is the least weird person around? What ships do you think will happen? Post your answers and other theories down in the review section! Thanks for reading!_

 _This is Mod Keima speaking, whose main role consists of inserting vocative commas, distinguishing blond vs blonde, and making sure the writing can have good standards. There are a lot of interesting characters in this SYOC, aren't there? Well, guess what? As long as none of us loses steam along the way, we're going to discover them more deeply. Out of the Mötley Crüe motley crew, about whom do you want to know more? Thank you for reading, and I hope your day will be free of missed commas!_

 _Official Beta Reader SD speaking. They really should pay me to do this. You already have a lot of questions to probably answer up there, so I'll keep it short and sweet - look out, because there's a loli in the house, and we all know how that usually turns out. Cheers._

 _~Mods Makina, Hero, Rev, and Keima (+SD)_


	9. DOCS 2-1

**Chapter 1: Divided Our Countries Stand: START**

 ***~ Shotaro ~ Conference Room**

 _Well, if that announcement wasn't ominous, I don't know what is._

One by one, I watch as the people I've gotten to know in the last hour enter the door to what I'm guessing is the conference room. I would be walking much faster, but my mind is racing with a million questions.

 _Just what is going on? Who is "Mr. Peace"? Why have we been brought here? Where are we?_

When I stepped into the room, the realization that I was the last to arrive bursted into and immediately out from the back of my mind. I had something far bigger to worry about; everyone I had met so far was already making decent conversation amongst themselves, and I had absolutely no idea how to insert myself into any of them. Some people, like the Political Trio and Iso, looked like they were somewhat eager to find out more about our situation. Others, such as Hayana and Gin, seemed nothing but worried, their gazes unfocused and shifting around the room.

"I have a bad feeling about this…and I know everyone else does too."

The familiar voice jolts me out of my reverie, and I turn my head. Yumi, who had been standing by my side, has a stern look on her face. "I can perceive mass confusion, a lack of anything remotely resembling understanding, and a growing sense of panic," she elaborates.

"Yeah, well," someone snarks, "you don't need to be a mind reader to discern that."

She frowns as we both turn to the source of her newfound indignation. Ai promptly kicks her legs onto the table and leans back in her chair, mouth crescent-shaped like a Cheshire cat's. By her side, with a stark contrast to those girls, Madoka and Kokushi are discussing something amicably that I can't quite make out from my end.

"Whatever news we're getting, it definitely can't be good," someone pipes up from the other side of the room.

 _Thank you, Captain Obvious; what else needs to be pointed out that we didn't already know?_

As if on cue, the door slams open with a loud bang.

"Sorry 'bout my tardiness, everyone! I was running behind on some matters I had to attend to. But I'm here now, so settle down, if you please!"

I could tell that the new voice from the door came from a male. It sounded just like the one that we heard over the announcement, and what he says next confirms that suspicion. "Take your seats and get comfortable, because we have some things to discuss."

Everyone follows the mysterious male's command and we all rush to our seats. It was rather easy to delegate who would settle where; the seats on the circular table had a nameplate attached to the back, each with a different student's full name on them.

I barely sit down at my place between Yumi and Ai, as the new character strides in and takes his place upon the rightmost throne in the room, resting his head on his closed fist.

"Well, I guess I should start off with who I am. Some of you probably have guessed by now; I am the voice you heard over the PA system. They call me Mr. Peace. If you prefer, you may also call me Mr. Breaker. I am the Super High School Level Matchmaker, and your host in this establishment."

 **Peace Breaker – SHSL Matchmaker**

At 5 foot 7, the ironically named Mr. Peace weighs in at 158 pounds. He has a somewhat darker skin tone to go along with his uniquely orange, almond-shaped eyes. His black hair falls in long, thick locks, snaking down his chiseled face as if he was a gorgon. He wears a sky-blue leather jacket on top of a dark red button-up shirt, over a pair of average blue jeans. For some odd reason, he's also wearing a pair of purple boots, which explains the mark left on the door when he likely kicked it open. To finish off his interesting choice of clothing, he wears a tie that is half-black and half-white.

 _"Host"…? What is he talking about? Also, what is up with the gaudy get-up?_

"Some name you've got there, Mr. Peace." Misaki giggles, using the same voice as our "host".

Disregarding the remark, I look around to see that I'm not the only one with a confused look on my face. Directly across from me, I see—and hear—Ryu ask the question on everyone's mind. "What do you mean by 'host'?"

"What do I mean?" Peace answers in an exaggerated voice. "I mean exactly the definition of the word 'host'! I am your host in this new place, and you are all my guests." Peace gestures his hands out all around him, signifying that the entire area is the location of reference.

 _Host? Guests? I thought I couldn't have been more confused, but here I am._

An epiphany hits me hard like a brick. "Wait. Are you the one who brought us here?" I ask, fully expecting a yes-or-no answer.

Peace shifts his attention to me, and to me only. "Did I bring you here? Well, I have no memory of that, so I guess the answer is no. Although I do know someone else who can probably answer that question much better than I can ever dream of." He frowns, scrunching his face. "Where's that damn manatee when you need him?"

 _—I'm sorry, did he just say "manatee"? As in, sea cow? No, I must have misheard._

"I'm coming! I'm coming! I needed a minute to go to the manatee's room, okay?" Another new voice—a quite squeaky one, and one I haven't heard before—chimes in.

We all turn our heads to the bearer of the voice, towards the other throne, to see a black and white manatee descending from a thick, translucent tube sticking out from the ceiling.

 _Holy shit, he was actually serious. Someone, pinch me so I—_

"Yeowch!" I exclaim suddenly, as my arm flares up with pain from a sudden pinch on my lower arm.

Turning my attention to the right, Yumi catches my gaze and grins sheepishly. "What?"

Ignoring our somewhat insensitive shenanigan, Kagaku calls out to the manatee with a quizzical look, "What type of malevolent creature are you?"

"Who am I? Well, I'm just your friendly neighbor Monotee, of course! I am your other host here, heeheehee!"

 **Monotee**

Well, what else do you expect this description to say about it? It's a small manatee. That talks. His left half is bleached-white, while the other is pitch-black. On the white side, he has a black dot for an eye, while the black side has a red glowing zigzag that pulsates every now and then.

 _Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, to escape from reality? Open your eyes, look up to the skies and seeeee—I'm just a poor boy…I need no sympathy..._

"Will you please stop quoting that song?" Ai finishes in tune, before giggling, causing me to propel myself away from her immediately, jaw dropped.

 _How'd she know?!_

Bree stands up from her seat. "Alright, if you think you can answer the questions better than Medusa over there, then answer. Who brought us here, and why?" she commands Monotee to give an answer.

Tone reluctant and a bit irked, Monotee responds. "Well, I was going to cover that, anyway. With that, hold your horses, and let me get on with my speech." Monotee couldn't have sounded more annoyed.

Resolutely, she attempts to push on. "But—"

"Butts are for sitting, lovely, and if yours isn't on the seat in the next few seconds, I'll be forced to mute you. Permanently."

 _Well, I, am, scared._

Bree is understandably shocked, but she slowly takes her seat. "I rest my case."

 _I'd never thought I'd ever hear a real-life prosecutor say that. Kudos to you, Monotee._

"As I was saying, I am your other host here, Monotee. As to who brought you here, well, that could take a long time to explain. How about I give you the fast version?" the robotic aquarian asks, a few clicks emanating from him. Without warning, he starts talking a thousand syllables a second, speeding through just about every syllable incomprehensibly, ending with a huff as if he could somehow be out of breath. "Alright. If you have any questions, just remember what I said in slow-motion."

It takes all my willpower not to scream out loud in frustration. To calm myself down, I remind myself that I can still get a cookie later on in the cafeteria.

"Er, could you say that again? I zoned out for a sec," Harper says confusedly, rubbing her eyes.

As expected, Monotee ignored her query. "On to the next item. You're all here for one reason, and one reason only: to entertain the masses. You are here to bash, stab, burn, hex, suffocate, drown, or anything-else-you-can-think-of your fellow mates here. People do love violence, so what would be better than a watching a bunch of teenagers kill each other?"

He paused, before adding as an afterthought. "It'll be great for ratings!"

If anyone wasn't shocked or surprised yet, they are now. Each of us glances at each other, wondering if what Monotee had said was true.

 _Kill each other? What in the world? This had better be a dream. I'm going to wake up, in my bed, and find out that none of this is real._

I squeeze my eyes shut and open them again, expecting to awaken from this nightmare, but I still find myself in that conference room with everyone else.

"K-K-Kill each other?! As in murder?!" Hayana squeaks, a quiver noticeable in her voice.

"Yes, dearie, kill each other! It will be a fun time, so don't worry! A little murder never hurt nobody! It just kills them, that's all."

Monotee goes into a small chuckling session (whether it was because of his own joke, or was at the collective expressions of everyone else in the room, minus Peace, was up for grabs).

"Uh, Monotee? I think we have to go now. We are going to be late again if we stick around here much longer." Peace cuts in, and Monotee nods in agreement.

Monotee gives a tiny bow, as much as it could do in the tube of water. "Alright, I guess we should. Well, I hope the rest of you all have a great, murderous day!"

Before we immediately devolve into mass hysteria, the manatee catches himself. "Oh wait, one more thing, real quick."

 _What could it be now?_

"If you kill someone and get away with it, you will be permitted to leave! Also, by 'get away with it', I mean, by going through a trial, while making sure the other lovelies here don't find out, m'kay?"

With that, Monotee flops down from his chair, and dives into a hole that—opened up in the middle of the floor. As he was falling, we heard him faintly say, "Have a nice day!"

"I guess that's my cue as well. Ta-ta, everyone! I must be off, too." Peace waves to us as he stands up, and walks out the door, closing it behind him.

Instead of the mass hysteria I was wholly expecting, a tense silence falls over us. It's likely that no one has any idea what to say in light of our recent developments.

Eventually, Gin musters enough courage to speak up. "Um,—" he starts, trying to find the right words, "what do we do now?"

"That is the question indeed," Iso reflects, holding his chin in between his fingers. "Well, I think I have an idea, but I need to ask something first. Who here actually believed those two?"

We once again shoot nervous glances at each other, and the sentiment makes itself clear: we don't want to believe them, but what else could we believe? Inaudible whispers of "Would people really do as they said?" and "Is someone going to die?" fly around the room, and the atmosphere tenses up as if Medusa herself had just made direct eye contact with the air in this room.

Laurent stands up from his seat, as he finishes writing something down in his notebook. Clicking his pen to retract its tip, he addresses the lot of us, "Well, I, for one, am not going to stay here. I am off to my dorm; if you need me, find me there."

As he walks out of the room, he turns his head back. "Before anyone else asks, the flags on each door can be revolved to reveal to whom the rooms have been assigned. Just thought I would tell you all. Bonne soirée." With that, he takes his leave for real, keeping the door open (The hinge was made to do that.) for the rest of us.

The others start to stand up and file out, following Laurent's lead. Soon enough, only seven of us remain, and as we exchange glances, I mentally check their names off clockwise while the others start to talk.

Ryūnosuke, Kokushi, Yumi, Ai, Masashi, Madoka, and I.

"Like I said, this—isn't good," Masashi says, gaze unsure about our situation.

Kokushi responds by rolling his eyes. "Thanks, Sherlock. We're captives, no two ways about it."

"It's not just that," Masashi continues. "I mean, we're Super High School Level students; surely the public would have noticed if we suddenly disappeared, right? People would ask questions."

Madoka sighs. "But from where would they find answers? If the two of them have gone through this much trouble just to kidnap all of us, I doubt the rest of the world would be able to find us. Whoever we're dealing with has to be either very well-connected to—"

"Or a criminal mastermind." Ai concludes, never breaking away from that eternal mask-like smile.

"Indeed they must be." Ryu says quietly, giving a suspicious glance in the direction our "hosts" left in. After taking a deep breath, he turns to the rest of us. "The best thing to do now is not to panic. Let's get ourselves situated, and regroup sometime later to talk." he states, before walking out of the room himself.

 _He sure sounds like he knows what he's talking about. Then again, he is a spy, so it should be no surprise if he has experienced something like this before._

Ai pipes up. "You heard the guy. I, for one, could go for a good power nap." Without breaking her Stepford, she swings her feet off the table and gets up, before inching out of the doorway.

Yumi soon followed. "That might be best; I'm beginning to feel a headache," she comments as she too leaves, her twin brother in tow.

Either everyone was surprisingly calm about this whole thing, or they were just good at hiding their intranquility.

 _Seriously though, am I the only one worried here?_

Masashi and Madoka are all who's left, besides me. The former looked like she wanted to say something, but, probably deciding there's nothing much she can say that hasn't already been covered, she stands up.

Passing by me on her way out, she places a comforting hand on my shoulder. "You can stop shivering now, by the way. We didn't get any answers, but at least we're not in any real danger. Take care, Toku."

Watching her retreating form, I look down at my hands to find them clammy and filled with sweat. Scrubbing them off on my jeans, I think to myself, Was I really that nervous...?

A low whistle brings my attention to the other remaining occupant in the room. Madoka drums his fingers on the conference room table, lost in thought.

"Something on your mind?" I ask out of politeness.

"Nothing good," he mutters, before sighing heavily. "As if I needed more on my plate than what I already have to deal with. I'll just figure something out later. For now, I guess you should go find your room. Don't worry about me; I'll catch up after I rest a bit. Godspeed, Toku."

That done, he leans forward and rests his head on his arms. Within seconds, the light snoring indicates he has fallen asleep right then and there.

 _Uh . . . I probably should wake him up in case the hosts come back, but it's probably better to let him rest. After all, he's had to deal with Ai all—Morning? Day? Night? I can't even tell anymore._

I head out of the conference room, closing the door gently so as not to wake its final occupant, before finding my way over to the dorm hall, scanning the doors. On each door was a panel with a national flag. Underneath one panel's surface was a smooth metal panel with embroidery patterns on the edges that said "România". Taking a guess, I press against the panel, surface vertical stripes of navy, yellow, and red. As Laurent revealed, when I press it, the country's name tag makes a swift 180° to reveal a name embossed in elegant and legible lettering, though judging by how it says 'Yamato Kazumi', the door clearly isn't mine.

I've moved on to checking my fourth door when a quiet voice calls out. "Toku?"

I turn. Athena appears in my line of sight, and she's pointing towards one of the doors, the panel looking really red.

Walking over and pressing the panel, I realize why she called me; engraved in this panel is my name.

"Ah, thanks, Athena; I hope you find your door as well." I murmur, not used to giving out thanks very often, and with a brief nod, she leaves as silently as she appeared.

Releasing my hand from the panel, I see a red flag with a white cross in its center. I recognize it as Switzerland, and the caption that flipped back that said "Suisse · Schweiz · Svizzera · Svizra" confirms it. I open up the door, and am introduced to an—uh—interestingly-designed room.

 ***~ Shotaro ~ Shotaro's Dorm: "Switzerland"**

I walk into the doorway. The first thing that strikes me is that the room has red and white painted walls, like the flag. I see my slick, undecorative bed back in the right-hand corner, with a door that would presumably lead to a bathroom towards the other side. In the center of the back wall is a shelf containing many different models of guns on the wall. They range from handguns to antique muskets, though picking up one reveals that it's likely a model, judging by how light it is. A little unsettling, but I've heard the Swiss like recreational shooting, so it fits the theme.

As I take a few steps forward, I turn around to see that the wall has four different clocks lined up beside each other. Every clock was perfectly circular, with a white background and a thick black rim. Three of them didn't have any numbers as markings, only twelve thick lines and five thinner, shorter ones in between each slice. The sole exception, the fourth, instead had the numbers 12, 3, 6, and 9, in what I think is Helvetica. The hour and minute hands were thick, black tapered lines, but the seconds hand was much thinner, had a pure red color, and featured a perfectly circular bulb near the end. None of the clocks say where it's meant to represent, but with common sense, you could figure out they show the time…somewhere in the world.

 _I don't even care what time it is. Just wake me up from this nightmare…_

Setting my guitar case down by one side (It was a relief!), I walk over to the bedside and flop down face-first. I position myself how I normally would when I sleep and shut my eyes.

 _When I wake up, it will all have been a dream. I will wake up any second now._

 _Any second now._

 _...Any second now._

I drift off into a restless sleep.

That time I yearned for never came.

 **Authors' Postscript:**

 _Yo! Hero here, along with everyone else to give you the conclusion of the prologue! We finally have met everyone and the game can now start. Hooray! So, what do you think of our hosts? Any theories or thoughts about them are welcome in the reviews._

 _Hello there everyone. This is Mod Rev speaking. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. We are sorry for it being late again. I have an announcement however! If you go onto the profile page, you will see that there is a poll for who Toku should do an FTE with. This will decide, as the title will state, who Toku will FTE within these coming chapters before the murder. Please cast your votes. You are allow to vote for two people. My only question this time around is the same question for the poll. I hope you all have a nice day._

 _Hey, Mákina here. I did things but I was half asleep most of the time. =_=_

 _Mod Keima clocking in at the speed of sound, correcting spelling and stuff along the way. With whom will Toku spend his free time? We'll be waiting for your ballot while we procrastinate. Please also feel free to post your theories in the reviews so we can laugh at how wrong they are, like the dirty little masterminds we are. Thanks! PS. Gosh dang it SD_

 _SD here. Nothing much to say except...eh, can I ask you all to vote for Madoka in the poll? Pretty please? Jk. Vote for who you think is best. Cheers._

 _~Happy Winter Solstice from the Mods Hero, Rev, Mákina, and Keima (+OBR:SD)_


	10. DOCS 2-2

***~ Shotaro ~ Shotaro's Dorm**

 _Ugh… What a nightmare…_

I shift in my bed as I begin to wake up. I eventually find the energy to open my eyes, expecting to see the black-painted walls of my room—maybe even Suzuka or my mother if they were checking up on me.

But as my eyelids slowly open, all I can see is the same white ceiling of the Switzerland room. I pinch myself lightly, and nothing changes.

 _Oh Gods, it wasn't a dream…_

I get up to a sitting position and look around, before letting out a groan as I held my face in my hands. This couldn't be happening. I just can't bring myself to accept this. But, deep down, as much as I wanted to deny it, I knew this was my reality.

 _I… I really am trapped here… Just my luck._

There really isn't much else I can do other than get ready for another day in this hellhole. Getting to my feet, I throw open the closet to see exact replicas of the the outfit I had woken up in yesterday. In fact, I fell asleep wearing yesterday's outfit, didn't I?

 _Uh… Not even gonna question it._

After I throw on my attire for the day, I grab my guitar case off the floor and open the door. As I walk out, I turn back around to look at the plate and have it settle in my mind.

 _Switzerland… Why did I get Switzerland?_

Inner ramblings aside, I take another turn and head down the hallway, towards the main lobby. From there, I see the doors to the cafeteria slowly close, as if someone just walked in.

 _Not much of an option at this point. There is food in there, Toku. It's not like someone is going to be in there murdering everyone… Right?_

 ***~Shotaro ~ Cafeteria**

There doesn't appear to be any screaming, so I would imagine I am in the clear. I take a deep breath and stroll through the cafeteria doors. When I look around, I see the others milling around. Some of them are eating their food, some have already finished. It appears the rest are just now grabbing their portion of the spread from the kitchen.

As I walk past the others, the dull chattering in the room seems to soften exponentially, and I immediately shrink further into myself. The atmosphere is very strong in the room—palpable and thick enough that you could cut it with a knife.

I glance around as I walk towards the kitchen, feeling rather unnerved by everyone.

 _Wow… Tough crowd._

After I grab my tray of fresh food from the generous selection provided, I walk back to the main room and look for a seat. There of course are plenty of open ones, but you always have to make the right decision of whom you sit beside.

 _I know they all seem pretty wack, but who isn't the craziest person here?_

Looking around, I see Hayana sitting across from Kagaku, fawning over him worriedly with regards to how little Kagaku was eating. There, of course, is the Political Trio back at the same back table I met them at, digging into a Continental breakfast. There is Gin and Laurent, who are towards the center, drinking some tea. Iso, Masashi, and Misaki are in the center, with Misaki apparently resisting the urge to burst into chatter. Yumi and Kokushi are towards the back wall, with Kokushi sniping everyone with dark glances. Ai and Madoka are seated by a side table, enjoying their food, which looks much more appetizing than what everyone else is digging into, for some reason. Harper walks up from behind me, heading over to the Tachibana table, and finally, Athena is by herself at a corner.

 _Well Toku, everyone, but you, have already found their social niches. Time to make your choice. In this type of situation, alliances are everything. I have seen enough TV action dramas to know that._

I take another glance around the room, thinking over my options once again, when I see Yumi giving me a subtle wave. I point to myself to confirm if it's me she's waving at. She responds by nodding with a kind smile on her face.

 _But Kokushi is giving me the look…_

"Don't worry, he doesn't bite… I think."

I jump up in the air for a split second at her reply, before remembering her talent. Guess I'm going to have to get used to that at some point.

I take another deep breath and will myself to walk over to the two siblings. Once I arrive, I slowly take a seat next to Yumi, with Kokushi eyeing me down. He is just motioning his head to the side, and I pick up on his clue. I quickly move one seat over, so now I am equal distance from both Yumi and Kokushi.

 _This could either go great, or go terribly…_

"You can relax you know. I have no intention of killing you…Yet." Kokushi comments, my eyes bulging at the statement.

"Kokushi! I don't want you to scare Toku. He isn't going to do anything, so just calm down. I can handle myself." Yumi speaks up against her brother, but in a sincere and tender tone. The message appears to have made it across to the Tactician, and he closes his mouth.

"Sorry, Tokuda…" Kokushi mumbles and glances away from the two of us.

"W-Well… H-How have you both been doing…?" I ask what is probably the stupidest question ever.

 _How do you think they're doing, you idiot? They are trapped here just like you are._

My self-depreciating thoughts are halted when I feel a hand on my shoulder. It was Yumi, who was giving me a genuine look of understanding.

"I know how you feel, Toku. I can tell that everyone here feels the same way. We just have to breathe and think about this rationally." Yumi says, her words calming me down.

As if on cue, I see the Political Trio stand up and head towards the center of the room. Bree knocks her hand on the table surface as if it were a door. "Excuse me everyone? Can we have your attention please?" Bree requests, with all of us doing what she says, turning to her.

 _I don't know if they turned because they actually cared, or because they know what those three are capable of…_

"I think it is a mixture of both." Yumi whispers to me.

 _I am still not used to this, you know, mind reading thing._

"Whoops. Sorry about that."

With our inner monologues completed, Ryu stands up prim and proper before everyone.

"As you all know by this point, it seems that we have been trapped here. It also seems like we have no form of communication either, seeing as our phones have all been confiscated." Ryu addresses us, but my attention immediately shifts elsewhere.

I check through my pockets and don't feel it's familiar presence. I quickly open up my guitar case too, but to no avail. My phone really has disappeared.

 _Shit._

With no reason to look further, I turn my head back up to the trio.

This time, Yamato steps forward, clearing his throat before speaking, "After some discussion, Bree, Ryu, and myself have decided that it would be best to remain calm and refrain from doing anything reckless, such as challenging our captors."

"Well what do you think we should do other than that, hotshot? Just go with their game?" Iso questions while standing, an annoyed tone in his voice.

"I agree with the male leader of the cheering! How else would you propose we stop this foolishness? It isn't as if I can construct a robot to blast a hole through the walls of this prison!" Kagaku retorts, taking Iso's stance on the matter.

 _Male leader of the cheering? Really?_

Ryu looks over at them with a serious expression. "We're aware of how absurd it seems, but it's still safer to just play along for now. After all, we have yet to see what they are truly capable of."

"But we are, aren't we?"

Ai, ever the hellion, pipes up. "I distinctly remember being on a private plane bound for Austria before everything went black—if they have the resources to kidnap me, they have more than enough to keep us here."

"Oh yeah?" Kokushi grumbles, folding his arms. "If you really are as famous as you imply yourself to be, why have I never heard of you?"

"Kokushi, my darling, do you know who I am?" she riffs back, her smile growing. "I'll have you know I graduated top of my class in—"

A finger in front of her mouth silences her. "Ai, shush. Let them speak." Madoka cautions, before yelping when Ai clamps down her teeth on him.

"Oi, oi, oi!" Ryu cuts in, mildly annoyed. "We're getting completely off-topic here! What matters is that we need to keep constant vigilance for that...manatee and his assistant, since we still have no idea who they are or what they can do to us."

Iso has just about abandoned his chair and stormed over to confront him. "But who are you going to risk to find that out? We can't just sit here and do nothing." At this point, Iso was right in Ryu's face, shooting him a challenging look, to which Ryu returned.

 _It's the first day and people are already fighting… we're so screwed._

Luckily, before things could escalate, Yamato squeezes in between them and pushes the two away from each other. "That is enough. If we fight amongst ourselves, we won't accomplish anything." He then glares sternly at Iso. "As for what our action should be, we need to investigate for any clues on our whereabouts and who could possibly be behind this."

Bree then joins the fray, putting a hand on Iso's shoulder. "We're not suggesting we give up, we just need to be smart about this and get an idea of what we're in for before we do anything too reckless." Her expression then changes to a more carefree one, giving him a mischievous smirk. "Don't worry, when we find the jerks responsible for this, we'll totally kick their asses!"

Iso's hard glance jumps from Bree, to Yamato, then to Ryu. "...Fine." He finally concedes as he turns to make his leave. "If we're going to investigate, then I'm going to start now."

Soon after Iso walks out the door, Athena stands from her seat and follows suit. "We might as well. Better now than later." Just as she says that, everyone else begins to stand up and flood out of the cafeteria in small groups.

"Well, at least they're listening to us. Kinda." Bree mutters, as we watch Ai take a mock bow before vacating the room, leaving just the Political Trio and me.

"We better start too…" Ryu says, straightening out his suit before turning to his accomplices. "Can one of you please keep an eye on our resident cheerleader? It would be awfully troublesome if he made trouble with our captors."

"Very well. I volunteer as tribute." Yamato replies before making a beeline for the door, Bree following him.

"This ought to be interesting. I'll join you." Bree says to the politician as they exit.

 _Which leaves me with...Double-O-Seven here. Great, is he going to interrogate me? Reveal all my secrets? Or-_

"Toku, you have a weird look on your face." Ryu's voice derails my train of thought.

"Wha—?" I say dumbly, surprised by his statement. Judging by the look he was giving me, I probably did have a weird look on my face as I was thinking about all the terrible things he could potentially do to me. I quickly compose myself before cautiously walking over to him. He must have picked up my nervousness, because his expression softened slightly.

"Relax Toku, I don't bite." He said chuckling a bit. As he said that, I felt myself relax a little.

"Hehe...Right." I say nervously, feeling a bit ridiculous for being slightly afraid of him. I hardly even know him.

* * *

 **Would you like to hang out with Ryu?**

 **{Do I even have a choice?}**

 **License to kill - stay far,** _ **far**_ **away.**

* * *

"So, umm." I start after a moment of uncomfortable silence, not entirely sure what I should say. Damn my social awkwardness. "Do you think we'll find any leads?"

"Depends. Define 'leads'." Ryu replies with a grin, and I find myself thrown back into the spotlight.

"Uh...The identity of the person or persons who trapped us here?"

His friendly expression immediately hardens up. "I doubt we'll find a solid clue to who is behind all of this, but we might at least learn where in the world we are. There might also be a chance we could find a means to escape."

"A means of escape…" The phrase feels...hopeful, as I repeat it and let it settle in my mind, but I don't know how else to feel about it.

 _Should I be happy to get out of here, or should I be sad for having to stay here any longer...?_

I breathe. "If there is a way out, we are bound to find it sometime."

Ryu simply nods in agreement. "Of course. With the size of our group being as big as it is, I'm sure we'll find something eventually." He glances away, lost in thought. "Besides, this isn't the first time I've been held captive. I'll admit, though, at least I knew who I was dealing with then."

"Not the first time? I wouldn't expect a spy like you to have been caught before." I questioned, wondering what other situations he could have been in.

Ryu lets out an amused chuckle at my comment. "I may be the best now, but I certainly didn't start off that way." He glances back at me with a slight smile. "I was only about twelve when I got into this line of work, after all."

 _Holy shit... Twelve years old? Really? What is this guy, a superhuman?_

"How did you become a spy at the age of twelve? Is that even legal?" I am thoroughly confused.

 _Isn't there like some child labor law that prevents that?_

Ryu leaned in closer and began to look me over, as if he was checking for something. It felt kinda uncomfortable having this guy eye me like that...After he was done, he backed off. "Normally, I wouldn't give this information about myself out to people, but I have the feeling I can trust you Toku."

He then led me to the back of the room before opening up. "My uncle took me in as an apprentice shortly after my parents went MIA on a mission, you see. It was him who cultured my talent for espionage since I was young."

"Damn... That sounds both impressive and disheartening. Are your parents still missing?" I inquire with genuine concern. Knowing that I am a select few of people who have heard that might mean it could be a touchy subject.

"Technically yes, but…" He trailed off, sighing. "I think we all know what really happened to them."

"Oh...I'm sorry to hear that, Ryu. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, I understand." I look towards him with concerned eyes.

 _I hope he isn't too tormented by this whole mess._

"It's fine. I've come to grips with the reality of this job. As risky as it is, it's still my duty to protect civilians." He then placed a hand on my shoulder. "That's including this group."

I feel my eyes light up and my heart warm at those words. "You really do deserve that title don't you? Well, we aren't leaving all the work to just you. We are all going to protect each other, you hear me?"

After hearing that, Ryu smiles at me. "Good to hear. It appears that I was right to trust you then. And now if you'll excuse me..." He lets go of my shoulder and begins walking towards the door. "I have some investigating to do. I trust you'll do the same?" He asked, glancing back at me.

"Right behind you!" I say, as I take my steps following Ryu. I feel like I got closer to Ryu over the endurance of this conversation.

* * *

 **FTE Complete!**

 **You obtained a Hope Shard!**

* * *

 ** ***~Shotaro ~ Dorm Hallway****

After we had left the cafeteria, Ryu and I went our separate ways to begin our own investigations. I noticed he was heading to the lobby, so I decided to go the other way to where the dorms were. As I turned, I noticed Yumi leaning against the wall by herself.

 _What was she doing? I thought she had left with her brother._

Yumi turns her head to me as I start heading her direction. "Kokushi went off to look through his room while I'm waiting here for him." She said before smiling slightly. "You are welcome to keep me company if you would like to, Toku."

I was tempted to join her, despite knowing I had to investigate. In all honesty, I had no idea what I was doing, so maybe I could hold it off for a while.

Besides, Yumi seemed like a nice enough person to hang out with.

* * *

 **Would you like to hang out with Yumi?**

 **{She is too nice not to.}**

 **Too much meta.**

* * *

"That's good to hear. Knowing Kokushi, it is going to take him a while to be able to sort through and examine examine everything. So, in the meantime, what do you want to do?" Yumi asks, as I lean against the wall next to her.

"Hmm." To be honest, I wanted to know what reading minds was like, but I'm not sure if I could ask her that.

 _As bad as I am with talking to people, I'm probably worse talking to girls…_

"Don't be so down on yourself! You sound just fine, though I do hear a slight quiver in your voice...but that's besides the point." Yumi addresses the thoughts in my head, once again. I think I am just getting used to it now.

"So you want to know what reading minds is like, yes? Well, it is an interesting topic. The best way to describe it, is just like you hear the person's thoughts as if they were saying it."

"I see. Is it something that you can control or do you just hear everyone's thoughts all the time?" I inquired.

 _If it was the latter, I think I would have gone crazy._

"It's something I control... Most of the time." Yumi says, as she turns her head and holds her left arm. "Sometimes, I just can't stop hearing them, so I get really stressed out."

"Oh.." After hearing that, I kinda feel bad now. She must be very strong-willed to be able to put up with that. "S-Sorry." I find myself saying.

"No, no! It's okay, really. I have grown used to it. It isn't all that bad after a while. Though, there are some things I wish I could have not heard." Yumi says that last bit even quieter than usual.

I looked at her curiously.

 _What things could she have possibly heard?_

It's probably best I don't push it, so I drop it and try to think of something to say. "Umm..."

 _Damn it. Once again, my lack of social skills screw me._

Luckily for me, Kokushi decided to show himself. "I didn't find anything suspicious, other than more...lederhosen." He visibly shuddered after saying that.

Yumi instantly turned around at Kokushi's presence, but I could feel like she had something else she wanted to say. She just smiles with a small giggle at Kokushi's shuddering. "Well, I guess you have a good amount of extra clothes then. I wouldn't mind seeing you in some green."

"Like hell I'm gonna play dress-up." He replies before noticing me and sparing me a glance. "Let's go search your room now. I doubt we'll find anything, but we should still be thorough."

"Alright then." Yumi turns back to give me a wave as she and Kokushi start to walk off towards her room. "Have a good day now, Toku!" She somewhat cheers with a smile. Once they disappear into her room to investigate, I am left alone to wonder.

 _It seemed like something was troubling her... What was it?_

* * *

 **FTE Complete!**

 **You obtained a Hope Shard!**

* * *

After the two siblings left to continue their investigation, I found myself alone again.

 _Well, I guess it's now or never…_

As I walk away from the Dorm Hall, I find myself back in the lobby. A few yards away, I can see Kagaku walking with Hayana practically attached to his arm.

 _Should I go up to them?_

Kagaku must have sensed some eyes on him, because he turns to look back at me. "I see the musical one has begun his investigation." He says, walking over to me, practically dragging a giggling Hayana with him. "Tell me, have you acquired any useful information?"

I kind of jumped up in the air when he suddenly addressed me.

* * *

 **Would you like to hang out with Kagaku?**

 **{Say yes to the madness.}**

 **I feel like he is going to summon a robot to blow me up.**

* * *

"Well... I haven't really found anything useful yet. Just talked with some of the others. How are you two holding up?" I ask, hoping to get the serious stare off of me for the moment.

Hayana, still holding onto Kagaku's arm, sighs in disappointment. "We haven't really found anything either. I'm kinda getting worried..."

Kagaku simply looks away in annoyance. "Perhaps we would actually find something if you would _let go_ of my arm and investigate elsewhere."

I am just glancing back and forth between the two. Under my breath, I mumble, "I swear, you guys are an old married couple..."

They must not have heard me, because they continue with their conversation.

Hayana pouts at Kagaku's last statement, but eventually lets out another sigh as she lets go of him. "You're probably right. We might find something if we split up." Kagaku looks at her in surprise, like he didn't think she would actually listen to him. "Now if you boys will excuse me..." Hayana says, walking away to enter the next room.

"Has she been with you since you got here?" I inquire from Kagaku. If it is true, then the evidence will just keep piling up.

After watching Hayana leave, Kagaku turns his attention back to me. "Yes, that wedding planner hasn't given me a moment to myself since we met...Just what made her want to leave all of a sudden?"

"Probably the tone of voice you used. It was more serious and annoyed than usual. Do you think you might have hurt her feelings?" I am just trying to make up for conversation here, as I have no clue what I am saying.

"Hmph, why would I, a mad scientist, care for some girl's feelings?" He questions, looking away and making a sour face while crossing his arms.

"Well, I don't know, because you are a human being? Plus, for some reason, be it beyond me, you were the first, and still only, person that Hayana opened up to. That might say enough in and on itself." I sound as if I am giving a therapy session right now.

 _Yeah Hope's Peak, you can give me the title of SHSL Therapist anytime you want! Actually... Please don't. I don't want to deal with that many problems._

For a split second, Kagaku seemed to look...guilty? But he quickly shakes it off. "Tch, it's pointless to open up to people. Especially under our current circumstances." He then glances back at me. "Tell me, are you aware of what Tall Poppy Syndrome is?"

"Hm... It sounds familiar, but I can't say I know what it is exactly." I say as I now am wondering where he is going with this.

"Basically, when a person makes it apparent of how superior they are, they become a threat as well as the biggest target in a group." He explains. "Although I am obviously the superior one here, I am choosing to keep to myself so I don't become a target." He pauses for a minute, thinking something over, before speaking again. "This also can apply to more than one person, or an alliance who have taken authority."

"An alliance who has taken authority... Doesn't sound too good for the Political Trio." I say this, but there is something else in the back of my mind.

 _You say you aren't... With the way you talked at breakfast, you definitely sounded like you blew that cover..._

He gives me a serious look, like he knew exactly what he was talking about. "Mark my words. By taking control, the Political ones have placed a huge target on their backs." He says before turning away and walking off. "After all, the tallest Poppy always gets cut first." I notice that he is heading in the direction that Hayana had gone off for.

 _I think I should leave him be... He doesn't seem to be in the best of moods now._

* * *

 **FTE Complete!**

 **You obtained a Hope Shard!**

* * *

I look around. There's nothing else of interest in the surroundings - might as well move on.

Choosing a random pathway to walk down, I venture off into the mostly-known but still unkown.

 _This feels peaceful...Too peaceful…_

 **Author's Postscript:**

 _And that's a wrap people! This is Mod Rev speaking. Sorry this one took extra long to post. The holidays and such happened. Not as long as the previous chapters, but hey, I think it still turned out good. I think you can all guess what is up next, but if you can't, no spoilers from me. I have one question for you guys. Did one of your votes get a FTE this chapter? If so, tell us in the reviews. I hope you guys have a good time now! Peace (Breaker) out!_

 _Hero here. Apologies for taking so long getting this chapter out, but as Rev said, we've been busy. We hope you enjoy this chapter anyway. Tell us how you liked the FTEs! Any and all critiques are welcome! See you in the next chapter!_

 _It's SD. Nothing much to say this time. Carry on. Wwwwwwww_

 _Hey, Mákina here. Sorry for the delay with this chapter, but I guess we all got caught up with Christmas and the new year. Nonetheless, the new chapter is complete! See y'all later! Mákina out._

 _Salutations. Mod Keima here. I'm tired. Happy new year and take care._

 _Have a good day! ~ Mods Rev, Hero, Keima, Mákina, and SD_


	11. DOCS 2-3

***~ Shotaro ~ Hallway**

I'm halfway down when the intercom crackles to life. The familiar voice of _the_ Mr. Peace sounds out, " **Could you do your friendly neighbourhood Matchmaker a favour and all return to the conference room? We—that is, Monotee and I—have a special something we want to give you as a reward for being such good kids. Thanks!"**

 _Conference room?_ I wince. _He definitely means_ that _conference room, but...I'm lost again, aren't I?_

As if the gods have heard my distress, help comes in the form of the short, bouncy, black-haired girl bounding down the hallway in my direction.

"Hullo, me!" Misaki greets me in my own voice, eliciting an involuntary shudder. The way she does that is unnerving. "Going somewhere?"

"Uh...yeah, I'm going to the...Conference Room." I reply uncertainly.

 _Goddamnit, Toku, everyone had to have heard that announcement! What are you saying? Shove that cookie right up your—_

"As I thought! Come along, then, we have places to be and things to do!" Grabbing my arm, she proceeds to drag me off. How in the world she manages to fit that much strength into such a small stature is clearly beyond me.

 ***~ Shotaro ~ Conference Room**

A few people have already arrived on the scene, but it doesn't look we've all arrived yet.

 _Phew. I don't think I could stand the embarrassment of being last twice on the same day._

As Misaki flounces over back to Iso, I take a seat in between an empty space and Madoka. The first thing I notice is the newly applied band-aid around his pointer finger.

"Did she really bite you that hard?" I ask out of concern.

He shrugs goodnaturedly. "No, but I've never had the strongest physique—I also happen to bleed pretty easily from my hands since I require their use the most."

"I already said I was sorry…"

As I expected, Ai is on his other side. "Can't you forgive your lovely little sister for acting on impulse that one time?"

He huffs, though it isn't with any real annoyance—yet. "You aren't sorry, and while we might be related, I'm pretty sure that you're not my sister."

She looks offended. "What could you possibly mean? I am genuinely sorr—"

"Then why the bloody hell are you still _crushing_ my arm like it's no one's business?" he interrupts, a slightly icy edge to it now.

I glance around his chair. Sure enough, the Pianist has the upper portions of Madoka's arm locked in a vice-like grip.

"Um...Trying to convince your blood to clot faster?" she replies cheekily.

A flick to the forehead. "Let go, please."

"Well, it's good to see you all again, my lovelies!"

The sheer surprise of one Monotee popping up in the empty seat next to mine causes me to freak out and jump in the opposite direction. Clearly, my crowdsurfing days paid off a little too well, as I found myself sprawled across the Tachibanas' laps.

 _Uh..._

"Wow, isn't somebody feeling a little forward today?" Ai grins, before tipping the precarious balance that's the only thing keeping me stable with a finger.

 _Mm, whatcha say-_

I end up rolling off her legs, under the table and into the wall on the opposite side of the room.

 _Ow, the pain… Is my very existence alone offensive to whatever gods govern this earth?_

I get up, cracking my now very-sore back, and struggling onto my new seat opposite them—this one was between Hayana and Laurent.

"Afternoon, Toku." Laurent greets cheerfully. "Making friends, I see."

I choose to pointedly ignore that. He scribbles something down in his notebook before all of us remember the elephant—uh, manatee— _uh_ , Monotee in the room.

"Where's my wingman, huh?" The undersized marine animal squeaks in that high-pitched voice of his.

I look around. In the time between my entrance and right now, the rest of my associates have all filed in, leaving two seats empty on either side of Monotee's throne, where he has thankfully relocated to. Bree and Yamato come in to fill them, and shortly after that—

"Pardon my tardiness, everyone!"

Peace strolls in, carrying a box that shakes and rattles with every step. "I've got your gifts right here though! Fresh off the—"

He stumbles a bit, before making it to his throne. Setting the box down, he turns to the rest of us. "Fresh off the delivery truck. Eighteen brand-new Electro-IDs, ready for use!"

 _Electro-IDs? What are those?_

"Delivery truck?" Yumi leans forward, now very interested. "From where did it come?"

"That's for us to know and for you to never find out!" Monotee squeaks. "Honestly, do you think we'd fall for such an amateur mind trick?"

"You look gullible enough." Gin derides, before something smacks him in the face. "Ow!"

The rest of the devices come sliding down the table, slowing to a halt in front of us.

Whatever this Electro-ID was, it looked very much suspiciously like a next-generation touchscreen phone. It was sleek and thin, with a monochromatic design not unlike our _lovely_ host.

 _...Sarcasm sounds way better out loud._

Speaking of our lovely host, though, there's a sticker of Monotee on the back side of the device. I immediately sputter when I realize it's him in a seashell bikini, and judging by the general sounds of disgust, I'm not the only one who saw it.

 _Eugh._

Eager to take my mind off it, I turn it back around and touch the center of the device. An interface springs to life, before showing a picture of me, and beside it, my particulars.

* * *

 **SHSL: Guitarist**

 **Name: Tokuda, Shotaro**

 **Age: 17**

 **Sex: Male**

 **Height: 5'10"**

 **Weight: 133 pounds**

 **Bust si-**

* * *

 _WHAT._

Immediately, almost all of the girls (and even some of the guys) turn to glare at either of our hosts. "Oi, what's the big meaning of this?!" Ai yells.

 _This is the first time I've seen her anything but relaxed._

"H—Hey!" Hayana shrieks by my side. "How did you guys even—even!"

The thought of Monotee and/or Mr. Peace measuring her unconscious body sends her into a stuttering mess, and the same thought causes me to scream inwardly.

"Oh, lighten up!"

Somehow, Monotee has managed to don a nurse's cap. "I am a certified medical professional! Thus, it is within my rights to procure such information, even if I had to do it when you all were sedated!"

The confirmation that we were seriously knocked out and brought here sends the room into further uproar.

"Hey, hey!" Kokushi stands up as his chair falls the ground. "This is an outrage! How could the two of you just kidnap us like—"

The protest ended as a sudden realization appeared to come to him. "The two of you…"

Monotee looks at the Tactician curiously. "Something wrong?"

"Well, what's stopping the seventeen of us from just gang-rushing the two of you and securing our freedom once and for all?" Even as he says it, it's clear that he's ready to dash over.

In response, Peace calmly takes out a revolver and points it at him.

"Bang. There," he continues, twirling it. "If I wanted to kill you to save my own skin, then I'll do it without batting an eyelid. Any more questions?"

Defeated, Kokushi mumbles a curse, before righting his chair and sitting down.

"Incidentally, if you take a look at the Rules inside your Electro-ID, everything should be made realistically clear!" Monotee squeaks. The sound of fumbling soon follows as the rest of us turn our devices back on.

* * *

 **[Rules]**

#1: All violence against Ambassador Monotee or his assistant(s) is strictly forbidden unless permitted by them.

#2: Destruction of any surveillance cameras is illegal. Offenders will be penalized severely, along with having to pay back the cost of the camera.

#3: "Night Time" is designated as 10pm to 7am. During "Night Time", there are places that will be out of bounds to students. The water supply will also be shut off.

#4: All students should be sleeping in the provided suites. Anyone found sleeping anywhere else will be punished accordingly.

#5: You may investigate however you want, whenever you want. However, no locked doors may be broken into. All rooms, however, will be unlocked for investigation time.

#6: A culprit who kills a fellow student (or students) will "graduate", but only if they can convince the other students that they are not the culprit, and successfully pass the Class Trial. If the culprit succeeds, they will be allowed to leave, whilst all other students will be punished. If the culprit is proven guilty, however, only they will be punished.

#7: There can only be a maximum of two people dead per trial, so as to prevent default winning by mass murder.

#8: A "Body Discovery Announcement" will be made after three students find a corpse, followed by the release of the "Monochrome Autopsy".

#9: The lending and/or borrowing of Electro-IDs is strictly forbidden. Both parties will be punished if caught.

#10: You are free to attempt an escape at any time. Good luck succeeding.

#11: Rules are subject to be added at any time by Ambassador Monotee.

* * *

"And to give you guys a little more—incentive, we're gonna give you all a motive effective immediately!"

Peace glances at the robotic manatee. "Do you want to tell them what it is, though?"

"Hell, no! What's the fun in that? Huehuehuehuehue~!" he giggles, and the reality of everything I've just learned crashes on me in an epiphany.

 _I'm not dreaming this. We're really being forced to play this twisted game._

"Then I guess it's time to go! See ya later, chumps!" Monotee salutes with a flipper, before disappearing down his hole, Peace gathering the now empty box and striding out not long after.

The silence that followed starts to suffocate the room, before Madoka breaks it with a loud sigh. "All in favour of continuing our search around the establishment and pretending that nothing happened?"

We all nod our heads in agreement—even the Political Trio have no objection to it—and leave the conference room.

 _Today, I don't feel like doing anything. I just wanna lie in my bed..._

 ***~ Shotaro ~ Lobby**

I find myself alone in the same hallway I was in before the announcement.

 _Here again, back again. What else is new?_

I freeze in my tracks. Further down the hall, near the entrance to the Lobby, Hayana is trailing behind Kagaku, and stealthily following them is—

 _Mr. Peace?_

I walk up in quick, quiet steps. "What are you—" I attempt to ask, before he shushes me with a finger.

"Quiet. I'm watching a work of art in motion."

* * *

 **Would you like to hang out with...Peace?!**

 **{Yes, because this is the perfectly sane thing to do.}**

 **Let me think about it...for the next eighty years.**

* * *

"You're watching Hayana and Kagaku." I restate, just to ensure we're not talking about different things.

"Look Toku, honey, please quiet down. I must watch this flower flourish." Peace says, putting another finger towards my lips absentmindedly.

— _Did he just call me honey?_

I turn my attention back to what Peace referred to as "the flower" and stayed quiet. Kagaku and Hayana had stopped whatever they were doing and appeared to be talking with one another.

 _Well, that's a first._

They've occupied one of the benches in the lobby, looking mismatched due to their huge difference in height, and completely oblivious to our presence. I can hear some words being exchanged between the two, but I am not able to make anything out.

After a little while, Peace just starts doing silent chants, saying, "Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss—"

 _How childish is this guy?_

Over time, the duo break apart as Kagaku leaves in the direction of the cafeteria, and Hayana heads this direction, presumably back to the dorms.

"Crap, take cover!" Peace gives out a hushed command as he drags me behind...a bush?

 _When did this place get so much nature—ow!_

"H-Hey, hey, watch it!" I whisper back, annoyed. Luckily, Hayana just slips right past us, not noticing a thing.

"Whew! We're safe now." Peace sighs as he gets out of the bush to dust himself off. "So, what was it you wanted to ask me, darling?"

 _Finally, time for some answers._

"Well, I was wondering, if maybe, you know, could tell what this so called 'motive' is?" I ask of the Matchmaker, in a probably not-as-sympathetic tone as I had hoped for.

"The motive? Oh gods, Toku, we already said we weren't going to tell you what it was. I know you had luxury for being in your band, but don't expect me to spoil you." Peace says with a harrumph. "Besides, it wasn't my call on whether or not to share that. I am not really at liberty from orders from the boss themselves."

"Wait, boss' orders? Like, Monotee? That plush doll is your boss?" I inquire, trying to hide my inner laughter.

"Ugh, gods, Toku, don't take the big guy so lightly. You might not like the results; I know I won't, and Monotee won't—" Peace looks as if he had a snap of realization. "I have said too much at this point. Farewell, Toku."

He proceeds to shut himself up, and starts to walk off.

"Wh-What?! Hey, that was hardly an answer!" I yell back at the Matchmaker, with a demand to know what is happening.

"Well, let's just say I hope you manage to have sweet dreams tonight." He smiles cryptically, before leaving for real.

* * *

 **FTE Complete!**

 **You obtained a Hope Shard!**

* * *

 _...I don't even know anymore._

Trying to decipher his words for clues as to what the motive is doesn't appear to be a good idea. If anything, now I'm even more confused.

 _I wonder how the others are doing?_

Having walked with Peace to the lobby, I merely throw open the next door I see and hope for the best.

 ***~ Shotaro ~ Cafeteria**

 _Oh look, back here again._

I walk in to find the Political Trio huddled in one corner of the room, locked in a debate (or the start of an argument), while a blonde sits off by the side, listening intently.

Approaching said student reveals her to be Harper. "Oh, hello, Toku." she greets with a smile and a wave. I do the same in return, before taking the seat next to hers. "What's up, Harp?"

"Nothing much, really." She points her thumb at the trio, who probably haven't noticed that there are two of us now. "I've been trying to figure out what they're saying to each other, but I can't hear any of it."

"Oh." I reply neutrally. _If they're being that silent, it must be stuff they don't want us overhearing anyways..._

More people trickle in. I guess they're tired of walking around, though I would have expected them to just hide up in their rooms instead.

 _Or maybe that's just me._

Madoka leaves for the kitchen as soon as he steps in, and my gaze flickers from him to the clock. The time reads a quarter past five.

 _I woke up at around lunchtime, so that means— Wow, time sure passes quickly._

The sound of a chair scraping against the floor draws my attention, and I turn around to see who it is.

" _Konbanwa!"_

I instinctively yelp in fright and scoot away from Ai's grinning visage. "What?" she asks innocently. "I'm used to guys going one way for me, but not in the opposite direction."

"Hiya, Ai!" Completely ignoring me, Harper reaches over and high-fives the Pianist, who begins giggling.

 _Okay, I can tell when I'm not needed, lemme just—_

"Attention, attention!"

The sound of utensils knocking against glass reaches our ears simultaneously with the imperious yell, and we turn to see who it is.

Yamato puts down the fork and wine glass, before turning to address us all. "As we were made clear of some time ago, we are indeed trapped in this building, and unfortunately, as of now, we are still unable to find any possible exits," he states noncommittally. "However, we will continue and redouble our efforts, and we urge you all to remain calm."

"Onto the actual point, though." Bree taps her chin with a finger. "Has anyone had any luck in determining what this mystery 'motive' is?"

I think back to my conversation with Peace. Nothing he said then was related to the motive in any way, except—

 _ **Well, let's just say I hope you manage to have sweet dreams tonight.**_

 _But what does that even mean?_

"I saw Toku talking to Mr. Peace earlier," Athena pipes up, and I gulp. Sure enough, everyone's attention suddenly falls on me, and I shrink under their gazes.

 _Oh god what do I say where do I start how do I even- Help! Where's Shia LaBeouf when you need him?!_

"Well, he wouldn't tell me anything about the motive, but I found out about something else. Apparently, he and Monotee answer to a higher power—someone else who planned and made this 'game' of ours a reality. He couldn't tell me who, though." I recount. "Called him his 'boss'."

"His boss?" Ryu grunts. "Well, that's a dead end. The only way I can get in touch with anyone to find out who they're on the payroll of is if we can escape this place."

"So what _can_ we do, then?!" Gin brings up angrily. "I want to see my Junsi so bad!"

"Just keep calm! Everything is fine!" Kokushi asserts himself.

"Fine?! You got a freaking gun pointed at you earlier today, what do you mean, _fine_?" Iso hollers.

As the squabble continues, more and more people join in to voice their opinions. I wasn't one of them; out of the corner of my eye, I see a certain brunette has the same idea, as she stretches her arms.

"Uwaaaa...I could use a catnap." Ai yawns amidst the cacophony, before snuggling into her arms. "Honestly, you people can go on arguing for all I care. Just wake me up when September ends-"

 **WEEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOO...**

All of a sudden, the once-normal cafeteria proceeds to turn into what could only be described as an _air strike shelter_.

A loud alarm blares through the surroundings, as the lights that illuminate our general area begin to flicker nonstop, increasing in intensity until I was so sure they would fuse. This combined with the rumbling of the entire building's infrastructure, was the setting for pandemonium amongst us students.

To be fair though, I only made these observations after my initial reaction, which was:

" _WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUUU—"_

 **Author's Postscript:**

 _In case you were wondering, yes, that was the motive. We're dropping bombs on them. Have fun with that. (*reads the messages below*) Metaphorical bombs, guys. C'mon, we're not Doubt Academy-level sadistic. And I'll take those milk and cookies, thanks. Cheers, and hopefully, the next chapter'll come out soon. Happy Chinese New Year! Wwwwwwwww —SD_

 _Okay, I am not even going to take top slot this time, as I sure hell don't deserve it. And no, we aren't dropping bombs. Don't want the story to end that quickly now do we? Though for real, I am sorry for this extremely late update. SD was a freaking tank and practically solo-wrote this chapter. And for that, he deserves a round of applause. *Clapping noises* Well, I hope you enjoyed and have a nice day! —Rev_

 _Everyone, three cheers for SD! He completely deserves the praise for writing the majority of this chapter. *Presents SD with milk and cookies* Anyone able to guess the actual motive? Probably, but we still want to hear what you guys think. See you in the next chapter! —Hero_

 _Salutations and greetings. This is Mod Keima, your resident spellchecker and em dash corrector. I hope you won't be cringing while reading this regrettably late episode. I honestly don't know anymore what this is supposed to be, Danganronpa or a casual meme cesspool. I'm fine with it being either, though. Anyway, happy birthday to Naegi, our beloved protagonist and my birthday twin! —Keima_


	12. DOCS 2-4

***~ Shotaro ~ Cafeteria**

"Let me get this straight."

Madoka adjusts the tables so that they line up correctly. Satisfied, he turns to me and continues, "Okay, now that I've gotten that adjusted, would you please explain to me what in the world happened just now? I don't take very kindly to unexpected surprises—especially since this one almost toppled my cake."

I watch as Hayana brings the aforementioned red velvet cake to the table, before conspicuously swiping her finger along the top and helping herself to some of the icing with a giggle, earning herself the odd glare from Kagaku. "Well, we don't know yet, but the Political Trio think it has something to do with our mysterious motive. They've been trying out different things to see if it will recur." I respond.

" _Aaaaaaaa! Dead! Escape! Fine! Gun!"_

Sure enough, Bree is screaming at the top of her lungs, in an effort to check whether the alarms and lights were triggered by the sound level or a specific set of words. Nothing appears to be working so far, and no one can remember just what exactly was said before.

 _It's amazing how quickly I'm accepting the fact that everything's going to shit. Unfortunately, that doesn't make me any less scared._

"Well, forget about it. For now, just sit back, relax, and enjoy your dinner, yes?" Madoka smiles, before disappearing back into the kitchen.

I must say, for a Food Critic, he certainly knows how to cook. Set before us on the tables is a rather simple spread of your everyday cafeteria food. However, unlike the fresh, if slightly unappetizing, meals served this morning that probably actually belonged in your everyday cafeteria, well.

"Food...Glorious food…" Misaki inches another finger towards the fried chicken wings before Harper stops her yet again with a hand. "Wait until we're all seated and ready to eat," she admonishes. "It's only polite."

Suffice to say, the presentation was a tantalizing step-up.

 _So_ _ **that's**_ _why the Tachibana's lunches looked different earlier today — he must have been preparing for the both of them!_

Wheeling in the rather-large rice bucket at long last, Madoka wipes off a few beads of sweat, before declaring to the immense relief of everyone present, "Dinner is served!"

And at once, we all dive in.

I myself fill the plate with a few pork chops and a side of rice, and sit down with the Hirose siblings to eat. I cut into one, take a bite, and my mouth literally explodes with flavor.

 _I'm not even going to apologize for using 'literally', this stuff is delish!_

The murmurs of the room seem to agree, if the satisfied smiles and rapid movement of utensils are of any indication. "Well-deserved compliments to the chef." Yamato comments, digging into his wings and fries.

"It certainly is very palatable." Yumi smiles. "Thank you very much, Madoka."

Laurent pauses from buttering a potato to offer his two cents' worth. "I suppose it's just our luck that one of our talents can be put to some form of practical use in our current situation."

The Food Critic takes the kudos in his stride, offering a nod and a wry grin in return before settling down to eat.

I return to savouring my pork chops.

One by one, our utensils clatter onto our empty plates—the universal sign of a great meal.

Misaki yawns, before doing her best impression of Gordon Ramsay. "That was marvelous. Absolutely spot-on. Now, if you're gonna 'scuse me, I think I'll just take a little break, yeah?"

She proceeds to hunch down on the table, resting, when—

 **WEEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOEEEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOO...**

And all of a sudden, the alarms and blinking lights return; the rumbling that comes with it causes our table and assorted dinnerware to shake with it. Having gone through it once before, we are less taken aback, though still shaken up by the prolonged racket.

But at the same time, a memory occurs to me.

 _I think I've figured out something, and judging by how Ai is grinning, she's realized it as well._

The disturbances cease after five minutes, upon which she jumps onto the tabletop.

"Okay, listen up, folks!" she addresses us all, that enduring smile of hers ever-plastered across her face. "I think I have a good idea of how this motive works!"

Silence follows, before Ryu breaks it. "Well? Go on, tell us, what is it?"

"Hey, I never said I was going to _tell_ you guys!" Ai grins wolfishly.

At once, the protests ensue. "How dare you withhold important information from us all!" Kagaku slams his fist on the table, causing Hayana to jump back slightly, before he points a finger at Ai. "You will tell us, treble maker!"

 _Treble maker?_

Surprisingly, the next to speak isn't either of them, but Harper, who looks like she just had an epiphany.

 _...Riiiiight, Harper was also sitting beside us when Ai fell asleep that time._

"Everyone, I've figured it out! The theme of this motive is sleeplessness!" she cries.

I can practically see the gears turning in my classmates' minds.

"So what you're saying is that the loud noises, epileptic lights and earthquakes are just to prevent us from sleeping?" Bree asks the question on everyone's mind.

"It's just a theory...A game—wait, nevermind." Harper cuts herself off with a giggle. I think I could see Athena's eyebrow rise a bit, but it might have been just me.

Iso pipes up, "Her hypothesis could be correct, though. I mean, the alarms and stuff only started because Misaki was gonna fall asleep earlier."

He pauses, before raising a hand. "Actually, why don't we test it out? I'll try to get some sleep right now—you guys might want to prepare yourselves."

Everyone, including me, brings their hands up to cover their ears. Once he sees that we're all ready, he lies his head on the table and closes his eyes. Sure enough, the chaos returns with a vengeance, and my palms can only drown out so much of the bedlam. We wait for the alarms to stop before we resume our discussion, though I swear Ai was mouthing something that looked like 'La La La' over the din.

"I suppose Harper is right about it, then," Athena says after we've removed our hands. "Sleep deprivation is what Monotee's aiming for."

"He's targeting our good looks, that's what." Gin grumbles.

"That's not all. Excluding the naps that some of us have taken, I don't believe the rest have had any sleep since we woke up this morning at…" Kokushi's voice trails off as a look of realization creeps onto his face.

Whether is it because of their bond as siblings or her talent as a mind reader, Yumi's face nevertheless lights up. "We're in an embassy," she declares. "The different countries representing our rooms, along with how Monotee refers to himself as 'Ambassador' is the proof."

"Well, that's helpful and all, but let's get back to the point. We can worry about being trapped in an embassy of despair later." Kokushi glances at the clock. Just after eight—we've been having dinner for the better part of an hour. "It's been at least twelve hours since we've all been awake in some capacity; around seven since some of us took a rest."

"How does everyone feel?" Yamato asks, standing up.

The responses are somewhat varied, but all of them are generally along the line of doing well.

"In that case, I suggest that we should all retire to our rooms and rest. Do not attempt to sleep, but minimize as much activity as you can to conserve your energy. Madoka," he turns to the Food Critic, who perks up at the mention of his name. "Do we have any coffee in the kitchen?"

"If you could call _that_ 'coffee', yes," Madoka grimaces. "It's that bloody fake stuff that comes in instant packets instead of coffee beans though. Euch."

"It'll have to do. Whoever needs the coffee to survive the night, stop by the kitchen and pick up what you need. For now, everyone is dismissed for the night. Take care, and be assured of your own safety." And with that, Yamato concludes his semi-rousing speech.

One by one, we get up and leave, presumably back to our rooms. While some head for the door without a second thought, the rest of us stay behind to help clear the tables. As one of the last ones in the room, I grab my plate and a few others, before depositing them in the now-empty rice bucket.

Stepping back, I accidentally bump into Masashi, who rights herself almost immediately. "Careful, Toku, I don't want you falling head over heels for me so easily," she says with a wink.

 _...Is she actually flirting with me?_

Dropping off her collection of utensils, she turns and walks over to Madoka, who is meticulously transferring what's left of the red velvet cake into a container. Without even asking for his permission, she leans in from behind him and pecks him on the cheek.

He turns around, mildly shocked, but Masashi presses a finger to his lips. "Think of it as a freebie for all the hard work you went through to make me dinner," she purrs, before turning on her heels and walking away.

The faintest sign of a blush has crossed his face as I walk over. "Uh...You alright there?" I ask, though I can feel the grin stretch across my face as I do.

He shakes his head, as if to clear his thoughts. "Yeah, sure, I'm...fine. Getting back to...cleaning up. Yeah."

"Don't overwork yourself, man. Yamato said to conserve energy. See you tomorrow." I excuse myself, patting him on the back for good measure.

I make it all the way out of the cafeteria before I burst into nervous laughter. I feel absolutely bad for doing that to Madoka, but at the same time, I'm a little glad it wasn't me in his position.

 _He took it way better than I'd ever t—_

"Toku?"

The quiet voice makes me yelp, and I jump to the side away from it. Turns out it was only Athena though. "There's nothing to be afraid of, it's just me," she continues serenely, with a tiny smile.

I calm down. "Sorry, you just kinda scared me there." I apologize, before I start to amble back to my room. The quiet pattering of footsteps causes me to turn my head around—Athena is following me.

She catches the look on my face, and explains, "We're going back to our rooms, aren't we? I'm keeping you company, I guess."

Without waiting for a response, she continues her walk, and I do the same. Silently, we traverse the hallway back to the lobby and onwards.

 _...This is awkward. Should I try to talk to her a bit more?_

* * *

 **Would you like to hang out with Athena?**

 **{Well, we're going in the same direction anyways...}**

 **Nah. It's just gonna be awkward.**

* * *

"So...Athena, where are you from?" I ask, in an attempt to make conversation.

"The Netherlands," answers Athena. "It was a nice place."

I'd expected some more sentences to follow, which didn't come at all, so about eight awkward footsteps reverberate in the (thankfully, still) quiet hallway after she finished saying the word "place".

"Uh…" I break the silence as awkwardly as a rusty guitar string ripping would have broken it.

"Yes?" Athena quietly responds. She turns to me, her side-bun swaying, and her full face is in my view, but I couldn't really tell if she was invested in the convo or not. If someone told me that the enigmatic girl in Justin Bieber's _What Do You Mean?_ was really this silent blonde girl right here, I wouldn't even doubt it for a second.

"Netherlands is," I start, unsure where I wanted this talk to head, "uh—a nice place, isn't it?"

 _Nailed it._

Athena looks at me for a few seconds, which made me kinda nervous, but then she looked back away. "...Yeah. Like I said, nice place." Looking at her pensive face from the side, I feel an air of _saudade_ in her longing eyes and half-pursed lips.

She then turns to me again inquisitively. "Do you want to keep talking about cows and calves?"*

 _Cows? Calves? I'm utterly lost, like—I don't know, cows and calves in a big pasture._

"Uh, I guess?" I answer. I don't even make an effort to hide the fact that I'm totally bamboozled.

"Where do _you_ come from?" Athena rallies the question back to me.

"Oh, me?" I reflexively blurt, then try to think of a good response. "Well, I'm fully Japanese, you can probably tell. I like Japan, yeah, but I don't really have any special memories about the country, if that makes sense."

 _Nice fuzz, Toku,_ I snark internally. _Of course a country you've never really stepped outside of is too broad to have a memory about._

Still as serene as a siren, Athena looks away from me and around a corner in the hallway. "I see," she reacts accordingly. She still has that indescribable, indiscernible look about her.

"Oh, oh, my sister's Japanese too," I segue hastily. "Yeah, I like my sister. She's cool. Not really a big fan of my parents, though. Especially my step-dad."

"Parental problems?" Athena asks. "Parents are quite literally the first people you meet in life; it must have been living hell to not have that trust."

"Yeah, I guess," I reply. "I still kinda blame him for half my misfortune, heh. I bet your parents were better off than mine, though."

"They're dead," Athena bluntly states.

 _...If there was background music playing right now, it would have just stopped short right here._

The air around us freezes over, even though Athena didn't really look affected by it. On the other hand, I am completely taken aback and surprised by how matter-of-factly she mentioned such a tragic thing to say. A trail of sweat rolls down my forehead.

 _How are you not affected?!_

"They were both nice people," Athena reminisces. "They had busy jobs, but we could manage to find enough time to spend together. My mother was a behavioral psychologist and my father was a game theorist. In a way, it was only natural that I became a mathematician."

It turns out she has quite the tragic history. Having two people you've loved more than anyone else both die? I don't think I'd be able to handle that loss, and even if I could, I sure wouldn't handle it as well as this…amazing person over here.

"Must have been tough," was all I could muster after hearing something that grave. "Do you want to talk about, uh, something else? Like this new motive? It's going to be a big pain in the ass."

Athena nods. "I concur. I'm no biologist, but I do know that at our age, six hours of sleep is the bare minimum. With the expected constant noise reaching above the threshold of what we're used to at night, even that seems unrealistic. And I doubt that anyone has the luxury of noise-cancelling headphones."

 _Noise-cancelling headphones? Damn it! Now I wish I carried my pair around. Where are you now that I need you, headphones?_

"I don't think I'm gonna do well through this, like at all. The most I get would be free eyeshadow under my eyes, and that's not where that's supposed to go."

Immediately after, I hear a voiceless giggle escape Athena's petite nose. It was unexpectedly...kinda cute. From the side of her face, I could see the edge of her mouth curl up pleasantly. She sure has a nice smile—on the times that she _does_ smile...

I continue, "For real, though, I feel like I'm not gonna make it. I'm not usually good at sleeping in a loud environment."

"Me neither," Athena responds, "but it is true that some people will be more affected by the noise than others. There are some factors that change the outcome, like how much sleep their body usually needs, or how much noise they can sleep through."

Amazingly, she seems to have already thought through on this motive, despite us figuring it out just now. I mean, she _is_ the SHSL Mathematician, so I guess she's just really good at thinking all this stuff.

"Wow," I respond, astonished. "You clearly put a lot of thought into this already. Do you have, like, tips for me on how to survive this?"

Athena puts her hand up to her mouth to focus her thoughts. "I doubt that the Mastermind would make the motive weak enough to be cancelled by hiding under the blankets and covering your ears, but it would have _some_ effect in alleviating the sleeplessness. But in the end, insomnia would be a given."

Internally, I sigh. So there _is_ no escape to the piercing noises and the flashing lights. Big Brother is watching you sleep—or at least, _trying_ to sleep.

"Alright," I reply with resignation in my voice. I look around, and see the tricolor Dutch flag a few steps behind me. "Hey, Athena, I think you just walked past your room."

"I have time," answers Athena, "and besides, I have nothing better to do in my room. I'd like to wander around the dorms for a while. And Toku—"

She points to the Swiss flag with a faint, unassuming smile, like she did before I first went in there. That brought me back memories, even though they weren't so great.

"Oh," I mutter. "Well, thanks for keeping me company on my way back. I'll see you around."

Athena nods. "See you again, Toku. Try to have a good night's sleep." She looked back away and resumed her slow, leisurely walk. Her flowing blond hair brought on my mind an image of waves on a deep, calm sea. It fills me with… Resolve? Strength of will? Some other synonym of that.

* * *

 **FTE Complete!**

 **You obtained a Hope Shard!**

* * *

 ***~ Shotaro ~ Shotaro's Dorm: "Switzerland"**

" **The time is now ten o'clock! Night Time is now in effect! Please return to your rooms and go to bed! The Conference Room and Lounge have been declared out of bounds! Also, the water supply is now cut off!"**

 _Oh, well isn't that just great? I won't even to get to have a shower to wake me up, wake me up inside._

As I am groaning in my thoughts, I flop down on the bed lain before me and try to shut my eyes while lying down. Of course, the alarms blare out loud, trying to prevent any opportunities of rest.

 _Ugh… Can't these damn things shut up already? I wouldn't mind to be locked away in permanent slumber right now… Wait, I take that back. I don't want to die. I sometimes wish I'd never been born at aaaall!_

I start to air guitar, trying to play away the noise. Of course my attempts are in vain, as it doesn't help resolve my problem any.

 _You know what? Screw it. If I can't get any sleep, I might as well go do something to make me pass out._

With that, I hop up out of bed and give myself a slight slap to the face to wake myself up. Then I proceed to do a little bit of stretching, hoping it would help some, but to no avail.

 _Well plan A was a failure._

I resume trying different ways of passing the time, and find myself horribly, horribly bored. The hours pass by in a daze, and before I know it.

" **Goooooooooood morning, students! It's seven in the morning, so get ready to greet another beeeeeautiful day!"**

It says something when it's Monotee's voice that breaks the tedium of my nightlife. _Crap...I feel like crap. Oh well, at least I can take that shower now._

After changing into a new pair of clothes—the same fashion as the ones I came here in—I take a few steps towards the door and push it open to then turn back to stare at the room.

 _One day has passed since we have known each other and you already prove to be of no use… You disgust me. There wasn't even a mint on my pillow when I got here? What type of room service is this?_

Minor ranting aside, I decide to head in one random direction, not really recognizing where I was headed as my brain isn't processing what my eyes are seeing clearly. However, I do eventually find myself in front of a large pair of double doors and, having nothing to lose, I enter through them.

 ***~Shotaro~ Cafeteria**

As I look around, I can distinguish that Masashi is sitting a few tables away from me, Laurent is sipping on some tea in the back corner while reading a book of some sort, and, from what I can hear, the kitchen is currently occupied—no doubt by Madoka.

Masashi then averts her tired gaze from the face of the table over to me and gives a warm smile. "Hey, Toku. Hope being tired won't ruin that face of yours. I need something to marvel at."

She pats the empty seat by her side. "Why don't you take a seat and let a load off?"

* * *

 **Would you like to hang out with Masashi?**

 **{Doesn't look like I'll be stabbed, what can go wrong?}**

 **Uh… I don't want to be flirted with.**

* * *

"I hope I'm not intruding on anything?" I ask, not knowing how this conversation is going to go.

 _It is Masashi after all… Anything is possible, be it for better, or for worse._

"No, no honey, you are fine. I wasn't doing much anyways." Masashi says with her smile intensifying and cupping my hand.

 _I am starting to regret this already._

I decide to glance around the room, trying not to pay much attention to Masashi, for who knows what she might be doing at that very moment. "S-So… How have y-you been?" I inquire, trying not to let the current scenario get to me.

 _It is bad enough I am already socially awkward with guys… Even worse with girls, but Masashi takes that to a new level of 'Get me the hell out of here before I die of heat exhaustion and/or embarrassment'._

"I am doing fine. Just a bit of… Sleepiness is all. It is rather… Annoying of them to do this to us, to say in the nicest way possible. And it seems like I am not the only who thinks so… Some of the others have already gotten horns in their ears a few times..." Masashi says all this, but obviously is feeling more affected than she lets on. She has bags under her eyes, like the eyes are getting ready for a vacay on a remote eye-land. Even her bags have bags.

"Couldn't have put it better myself." I let out with a sigh, as I slowly try to get my hands out of her grasp.

 _I think I need an adult. This woman is going to do something to me soon, I know it._

"I remember back at Aunt Ryouta's house, I usually went to sleep earlier than most as I had to practice from the crack of dawn." Masashi trails off with the end of her sentence, her eyes shutting just for a few seconds before she snapped them back open again. "Urgh...The fatigue is getting to me, somehow. I thought I promised myself I wouldn't succumb to it after training for so long."

"Oh gods...I can't begin to imagine how that must have been like. When I was on tour, the earliest I ever woke up was around 8 AM and that was only on concert days." I manage to slip out, as I have almost successfully managed to loosen my hand from her fading grasp.

"Lucky… Though what was it like away from home for tours? It has only been a day and I am already missing Aunt Ryouta." Masashi says as she slowly lays her head along my arm.

"I'm…" I struggle to find the words as Masashi continues to rest. "I do miss my sister."

 _Damn it! I was so close… Please Masashi, abort mission! Abort mission!_

"Your sister, huh?" she asks. "Is she as cute as you?"

"Yeah, well-" I start to realize how strange that sentence was about to sound as something stops me mid-sentence.

A new voice. "Um, excuse me, guys? Service please."

* * *

 **FTE Complete!**

 **You obtained a Hope Shard!**

* * *

I don't think I've ever been so glad in my life to be interrupted mid-sentence. A familiar face comes over, holding a plate of something I can't identify—though it looks fantastic.

 _Those are clearly strawberries, and that's some kind of cream or milk, and they're all sandwiched between puff pastry. I feel like I should know this dish._

"Good morning, Toku. Here you go, Masashi," Madoka greets as he sets down the plate. "One white chocolate and strawberry mille-feuille."

The fork appears in her hand faster than I can see it, and the grin that follows her first bite stretches from ear to ear.

"This...This tastes like how Aunt Ryouta used to make it," she sighs happily, raising up and detaching from my arm. "I can't thank you enough, Madoka, you honestly spoil me rotten. I'd like to make it up to you somehow…"

 _Finally! Mission successful._

A thought visibly occurs to her, and she smiles cheshirely. "Say, have you ever heard of 'kiss the cook'?"

"Miss Hayabusa, I would greatly appreciate it if you didn't try to." He replies without a smile, though his eyes betrayed the happiness his mouth wouldn't show.

Turning to me, he holds out a hand. "Would you like to join me in the kitchen? I wouldn't mind making breakfast for you as well."

 _Oh thank God, I can get away. Lucky me. I swear she's giving me a heart-at-tack. Troublemaker!_

 ***~ Shotaro ~ Kitchen**

As I enter, I see that I'm not the only person invited. Predictably, where one Tachibana is, the other is sure to be, but it's a mild surprise seeing Harper and Laurent sitting at the makeshift table to the side next to Ai. He must have been invited in whilst I was talking with Masashi.

"Gooooooood morning, Toku!" Harper bounds over and greets me. As I return the favour, I see that she's the only one without a plate of food—Laurent is simultaneously writing stuff in his notebook while picking on a spread of raspberry crêpes, while Ai is stuffing her face with cake.

 _What is it with people and desserts in the morning? Or is it just because they need the sugar to keep going?_

"Have a seat." Madoka says quickly before rushing over to check on the oven. With a satisfied smirk, he pulls out a baking tray, upon which sits what looks to be some sort of meat pie, judging by the brown gravy oozing out of the top. He transfers it to a plate. "One order of steak, ale and mushroom pie, service please."

Even before Madoka finishes his words, Harper has already taken said plate, though not before hugging him with a brief, "Thank you!"

Leaving me to deal with his ever-growing blush, she proceeds to return to the table, and begins to dig in.

Madoka clears his throat. "So, Toku, anything you'd like for breakfast? I cater to most cuisines, though I can't promise everything."

 _Um...Actually, I've never really had a personalized breakfast made for me in the first place, what am I supposed to tell him?_

He looks me up and down, eyeing my indecision and all. "Hmm...You strike me as an Eggs Benedict kind of guy. Even if you aren't, I'm pretty sure you should like them, so yeah."

Walking over to the refrigerator, he begins preparations for my breakfast, pulling out a couple of eggs and something I faintly recognize as English muffin. He pauses from selecting a lemon to turn to me.

"It's way too silent in this kitchen, wouldn't you agree?" he asks, subtly shooting a glance at the other three occupants, before turning back to me. "Do you want to talk? I hear talking is a free action nowadays."

* * *

 **Would you like to hang out with Madoka?**

 **{I'm getting free food out of it, sure!}**

 **Eh, he looks busy, I don't really want to distract him.**

* * *

"Sure. What do you want to talk about?" I continue, standing awkwardly to the side as I watch him work his magic at the countertop.

"I dunno, anything. You're a guitarist, right?" he says absentmindedly, setting up a bowl and a saucepan of water. "How did you get into playing the guitar, then?"

My mind wanders back to a happier time in my life—when everything was simple, and my real father was still around.

"My dad used to play in a band. He was a big fan of AC/DC, and played lead guitar for a while before he met my mother. When I was thirteen, I found his old guitar digging around in my closet." I recalled, remembering how curious I was when I first opened that box. I had been looking for one of Suzuka's plushies when I chanced across it, and my life was never the same again.

"Did it still work?" Madoka's voice shakes me out of my reverie. He has gone on to boiling—"Simmering."—simmering the water, and has placed a bowl of runny yellow stuff over it.

"Yeah, I mean, sure, some of the strings were a bit rusty," I laugh internally, remembering how my dad snapped three of them doing his first power chord in fourteen years, "But he just went out and bought two new ones for me and him. I took lessons from him every weekend, and, well, here I am now, as the Super High School Level Guitarist."

His eyes appeared distant as he whisked the yellow stuff. "So you discovered your talent thanks to your father, huh? That's good, he must have been proud of you for being such a natural at it."

"Yeah, he was...I wish he was still with the rest of my family though." I mutter that last part under my breath.

Unfortunately, I may have underestimated his hearing, because Madoka pauses from frying the ham to look at me. "Oh dear, Toku, I'm sorry for bringing up bad memories," he apologizes. "I honestly didn't know."

"Nah, it's fine. My dad's still alive, just that my mother divorced him and remarried, that's all…" _Urp, he's looking at me guiltily._

"How about you tell me how you got into, uh, food critiquing, Madoka?" I ask in an effort to change the subject. Another thought occurs to me, and I continue, "And for that matter, if you're a food critic, why do you cook?"

Breaking an egg into a bowl, he adds a pinch of salt and pepper, all the while elaborating, "I was one year younger than you when I started, you see. The month before my thirteenth birthday, I visited a pretty high-class restaurant in the suburbs." He frowns. "Wasn't sure why they were considered so—they didn't season their food at all. That day was one of the first times I was ever 'only eating', and 'never appreciating' the food."

"So I tried again," he continues, taking the ham off the frying pan and putting the English muffin onto it to grill. "I went to a bistro about two prefectures away, and ordered their signature dish. While I could taste the pork knuckle, it was bad, and the review I left on their napkin was the only good thing I found about the experience."

"Hard to please, huh?" I find myself uttering without realizing how impolite that must have sounded.

Luckily or unluckily for me, he looks at me with an indecipherable smile. "Younger me was a bit of a self-entitled brat, I'll give you that much."

I laugh nervously. "I suppose it's good that at least you're aware of it."

"I had to be, or the hundred-or-so restaurants I visited after that would never let me live my newspaper reviews down." He laughs, and the smile stays on his face as he takes to swirling the simmering water in the saucepan. "In any case, Hope's Peak contacted me shortly after I had gone on my little rampage, and the talent stuck with me ever since. As for why I cook, that's far significantly simpler to explain."

"How so?" I ask, stepping to the side as he brings the bowl containing the egg over to stand in front of the stove.

"What right has one to judge food if they cannot perform to their chef's level?" He drops the contents of the bowl into the saucepan, and sighs almost nostalgically. "That is why I cook as well as taste all food. Such is the thought process behind the Food Critic, and how he critiques—though I can see why someone people think it's redundant."

 _...That's actually a very respectable mindset. 'Super Happy Death Punch' has had its fair share of music critics, and I'm pretty sure some of them have never even touched a musical instrument in their life. One of them even had the nerve to say that all punk bands are daft._

"No, I think that's kinda cool." I say. "You're willing to bring yourself to be a level on par with them so that you clearly know what you're talking about. Not a lot of people have the dedication to achieve that."

He nods at me, pleased. "Why, thank you, Toku. I guess it's pretty dedicated of me, sure, but in the end, I just want to help the chefs who were nice enough to cook for me perform to their fullest potential. It's only fair that, if I ask for the best, they deserve only the best in return."

Scooping up the now-poached egg with a slotted spoon, he arranges the cooked produce to produce what I've only seen in pictures—a glistening, beautiful plate of Eggs Benedict. " _Bon appétit_ , Toku, and thank you for the conversation. I rather enjoyed our talk, but it would be rude to continue while you eat."

I accept the plate and thank him earnestly. Knowing a bit more about Madoka has helped me to understand him much better.

 _And as expected, this is scrumptious!_

* * *

 **FTE Complete!**

 **You obtained a Hope Shard!**

* * *

"This has certainly been a pleasure. _Merci beaucoup_ , Madoka." Laurent comments with a slight grin, once all of us have finished our respective breakfasts. "I would much like for you to continue this arrangement to cook for us all."

"He's got to. His pride won't let anyone else defile his sacred kitchen and its contents." Ai snickers, before nudging Harper, the two of them laughing in sync.

The Food Critic looks mildly hurt, but makes no attempt to deny her claim, as he finishes off the last of his brioche.

"In any case, I'll be taking my leave too. Do take care, my friends." Laurent gets up and dusts his turtleneck off of any crumbs, before bowing and taking his leave. " _Bonne journée._ "

Meanwhile, Madoka picks up yet another bowl. "I'm thinking pancakes for the rest of the class. I can make them quickly, and they're a great source of energy."

"Here, let us help!" Harper pulls Ai to their feet (with a yelp coming from the Pianist), dragging her to stand beside him. "It's the least we can do!"

With a nod towards the duo, his gaze travels to me.

"Yeah, of course," I say, with what I hope is a smile. "I'll help."

 _I guess it isn't so bad here after all. If things continue to be as peaceful as this, I'm sure we'll be able to get through this motive._

 _I can only hope the others are taking it just as well..._

 _ **Note:**_

 _*In Dutch, "to talk about cows and calves" (over koetjes en kalfjes praten) means "to do small talk"._

 **Authors' Postscript:**

 _Hello there everyone, it is Mod Rev speaking. We finally realized a chapter on time, so hooray! Hope you liked this final FTE based chapter. I think you can all guess what is coming up next? Well, if you can't too bad because I won't spoil you. With that, I hope you have a good day! —Rev_

 _Salutations and greetings, readers. Mod Keima reporting in. I hope you like the Free Time Event featuring Athena, my OC submission. I wrote it myself because I thought I needed some practice for writing on my own. Did it turn out well? Any ships and predictions coming from you all? Leave them in the Reviews section and let us know. And as always, stay tuned for the next chapter. —Keima_

 _If there were any queries as to why I was so anxious to speed through last chapter, then this is why—my lovely little cinnamon roll Madoka got himself an FTE! He was also the most-voted for student in the poll, so a big shoutout to all of his fans (and me) for making this opportunity a reality! Honestly though, look at how precious he is. Anyways, we may or may not be doing a certain something soon, so look forward to it, I guess. Prepare for the first...big twist. Cheers! —SD_

 _Have a good day! —Rev, Keima, and SD_


	13. DOCS 2-5

***~ Shotaro ~ Cafeteria**

"Well, good morning, my darlings!"

I look up from my plate to confirm my suspicions—and sure enough, it's the one and only Mr. Peace, who has just entered the Cafeteria and is now standing next to a very bewildered Madoka. "May I?" He asks, referring to the stack of pancakes to the side of the Food Critic.

"Um...Sure?" is the confused response, and the Matchmaker proceeds to take the rest of the pancakes away. A hand grabs his sleeve before he can leave for real, and the two men have a staring contest.

"Coffee beans."

Peace blinks. "I beg your pardon?" he asks.

"In return for taking the rest of the pancakes away from us, I want there to be coffee beans in the kitchen." Madoka repeats himself. "You can't possibly expect me to drink that instant stuff."

"Hear, hear." Laurent follows up, setting down his teacup. "I have had nothing but tea for the last twenty-four hours, and while I do not mind yet another cup of it—"

The smile that follows can only be described as eerie. "I have urges that can only be satiated by the fragrant taste of dark coffee. As such, I would like to request some coffee beans as well."

"Okay, jeez, fine! You people are _sooooo_ picky." With a pout, Peace steps away, still holding the pancakes, and takes a seat at the other end of the cafeteria, far away from us.

 _Well, that was awkward._

It is at that moment that Ai walks in with the rest of the pancakes. "Here ya go, for the rest of the...class?" Her gaze travels to Peace, before back to her fellow Tachibana. "Why does the freaky love guy have pancakes too?"

"Eh." is the noncommittal response, and she sets it down without trying to press further. I guess the fatigue is getting to them too.

The first people to enter the cafeteria are the Political Trio, and they take their pancakes, each uttering a word of thanks. None of them look like they've slept well, though with Bree, you couldn't really tell.

"Urgh, it's way too early in the morning for this." Ryu complains, as he drops one of the pancakes onto his lap.

 _I guess everyone can be a bit of a klutz when they're tired._

All you can hear from the duo of Bree and Yamato is the low grunting noises of being tired. As per the usual arrangement, they plop down in their seats right next to Ryu.

Next up to enter the room is the Hirose siblings, Misaki, and Iso. The twins look as normal as ever, and Misaki is still as hyper as ever. Iso, however, is trying to force his eyes to stay open.

 _How do those three do it? Where can I buy this awakening magic?_

The rest of the others slowly start to file into the cafeteria, and each of them grabs a couple of pancakes with varying levels of gratitude, though no one can truly enjoy the experience, not with the lack of sleep and all.

"Well, now that we're all here, I just want to say good morning to you all! And Madoka, well done on the pancakes. I applaud you on them." Peace smiles as he gives out a little clap. Everyone else though just stares at him with an unamused face.

"Either way, I hope you have had a good night's sleep, or lack thereof! Anywho, I have some business I have to attend, so yeah, I'm outta here. Also, don't worry everyone, you will have your true coffee by this afternoon, I swear!" With that, Peace starts to walk out of the room, waving goodbye to everyone. No one really says a word at his whole scenario, as most of us can't be bothered to care.

 _I don't even know… Nor do I care._

Much like the rest of the others, the day just started to pass in a haze for me. In and out, I can remember having chatted with the others. Though in the cases of Laurent, Misaki, Harper, and Yamato, it all just blurred together as incoherent babble in my head.

I find myself walking. I don't know where I'm going, nor why I got up in the first place, but my mind continues to will my body to some final destination.

 **WEEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOEEEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOO...**

The alarm doesn't even faze me—at this point, I don't think anything can. I'm just _that_ out of it. And so the alarm stops, and I continue pacing forward, unsure of where I should go and what I should do.

 _When I get out of here, I'm signing on as an extra for The Walking Dead._

I don't know how long passes before I find myself back at the cafeteria, listening to Gin ramble on about...something. He gets up and leaves, before Iso sits down where the Lolita Model had been.

"Urgh...Do you ever think our feelings have, like, feelings?" he asks.

I wave hello to Masashi, who returns the favour, before continuing her _tête-à-tête_ with...Ai? And by herself too?

 _Huh. I guess Madoka's off doing his own thing. Probably cooking dinner for us._

"Sorry, what was that?" I return to my conversation with Iso, only to find him out of it, twirling his braid around one finger.

 _Nevermind then._

The cafeteria is surprisingly peaceful, but then again, it's to be expected. Of the six of us that are currently present, only Ai seems to be showing any signs of energy, and as she collapses into a seat by Athena and Gin, I get the feeling she's reached her limit. Masashi takes a seat close by me, and is about to get up to presumably talk to me again, when—

 _ **Bang!**_

 _Huh? What the_ —

"Did you guys hear that?" I ask, with a bewildered look on my face.

 _ **Bang!**_

 _It's coming from..._

"The kitchen?" Masashi echoes what I was about to think. "Should we check it out?"

Seeing as how there was nothing else we could do right now, Iso and I, the two closest to the door to the Kitchen along with her, get up and we gather in front of it. Tiredly, I turn the handle to open it—

And the body of Madoka Tachibana, the Super High School Level Food Critic, falls back out, the back of his head matted in blood.

The announcement that follows does nothing to stop my horrified screaming, but it confirms the one thing I hoped would never come true.

 _ **"Huehuehuehuehuehuehue! Attention all students; a body has been discovered! I repeat: a body has been discovered! After a brief period of investigation, a Class Trial will commence, so do make the best use of your time! Cheerio!"**_

 **Authors' Postscript:**

 _Mwahahahaha! For now all of the masses can see it! The day of reckoning is now upon us! Now you all can get your own sample taste of despair. And hey, Madoka, look at the time. It is half past a bad time! I have you have a fantastic day everyone! — Rev_

 _Yep. It is finally that time...Murder O' Clock! Was anyone able to guess our not so lucky victim? I know a certain someone did. Anyway, a round of applause to Rev and SD. They pretty much powered through this chapter to ensure your satisfaction. I hope you guys enjoy it, murder and all. See you in the next chapter! — Hero_

 _[SD is unavailable for comment due to being slightly salty that the spinner we used fell on Madoka first. He does wonder who you think murdered him though. Because he wants to know as well.] — SD_


	14. DOCS 2-6

***~ Shotaro ~ Kitchen**

 _ **"Huehuehuehuehuehuehue! Attention all students; a body has been discovered! I repeat: a body has been discovered! After a brief period of investigation, a Class Trial will commence, so do make the best use of your time! Cheerio!"**_

"Urgh…" Madoka groans, propping himself onto his arms and rubbing his face. "Ow...I know I wanted the door opened by banging it and all, but couldn't one of you have had the common decency to catch me as I fell?"

He gets an answer in the form of Masashi crushing his head against her chest. "You're alive!" she exclaims, the relief in her voice clearly evident.

"Um, Masashi?" I say nervously. "I think you're kinda smothering him."

The muffled agreement from Madoka is all that is needed for her to release him, and my gaze shifts to Iso, who has a hand to his mouth. "Must...resist...urge to puke! Failing!" is all he manages, before running off to find a dustbin.

Finally, I look back into the kitchen—and the bile in my throat threatens to make itself known to the world, as I look once more upon the body of **Ryuunosuke Fukuzawa** , the Super High School Level Secret Service Spy.

From where I am, having fallen over on my butt in shock in the entrance to the kitchen, I can see that he's definitely dead; if not because his chest wasn't rising and falling, then because of the rather prominent slash that spans the length of his neck. He sits slumped against the refrigerator, his feet outstretched and his arms at his sides. Blood is everywhere; it stains the front of his once-immaculate suit and pools around his body. There's a strange sense of fear that hangs in the air around him, and the black glasses only serve to accentuate the shocked look on his face. I wonder what his last moments would have been like to cause such an expression.

The chef's knife by his feet, bloodied pink, doesn't help matters much.

"I have your coffee beans here, but I highly doubt any of you are really in the mood for some right now, are you?"

Peace steps in from behind me, depositing a few jars of the stuff onto the countertop, before doing a double-take at the sight of Ryu's body. His face twists with something resembling disgust and...confusion? In any case, he clears his throat, "Wow, somebody clearly didn't like the guy, but sheesh, now that _I_ have to do the cleanup, the someone in question could have done a better job," he grumbles. "I don't get paid to do this, y'know?"

"...So Ryu's really dead, huh?" Madoka shakes his head, mumbling a quick prayer. "I know I should be shocked, but honestly, the amount of blood I saw on him when I woke up gave it away. What's—"

He winces in pain as Ai suddenly tackle-hugs him. "Maaaadooooka, are you ooook-aaaaay?" she slurs, clearly loopy from the lack of sleep.

A pair of hands, belonging to the Fencer tries to push her away. "Leave him alone, Ai! He's injured and needs medical attention, not for you to make it worse!"

"Cut her," Madoka grimaces, gently removing Ai's arms from around his head, "Some slack, Masashi. We've been awake for over a day now, and at least she's not actively trying to be a troll."

"Yeesh, I ish no troll. Imma birdie," she affirms, flapping around her arms like a bird, before her gaze lands on Ryu's corpse. Her expression immediately changes to one of horror, and she sobers up almost instantly. "O-M-F-G-W-T-F-S-N-A-F-U!"

"Hey, no stealing my shtick!" Iso yells from the other corner of the cafeteria, before continuing to vomit up what remained of his breakfast.

The yelling does attract the rest of our classmates, and one by one, they trickle into the kitchen. Each of them reacts in different ways to the body, ranging from Kagaku's relative indifference ("As I had suspected. Then again, when am I ever wrong?") to—

"Oh holy what the hell are you freaking kidding me?!" Misaki screeches, falling back on her butt and scooting away as fast as she can from the door. I realize this is one of the few times she's using her real voice.

Bree steps forward and closes Ryu's eyes. "I swear to find whoever did this to you," she promises the Spy, before turning back to Peace, who is idly standing by. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, pay no attention to that Matchmaker to the side. Continue reacting to your friend's corpse, we haven't copyrighted doing that yet," he replies.

"No seriously." Kokushi steps forward, his gaze hard. "Why are you here? Just to taunt us about Fukuzawa's demise?"

At this, Peace shrugged, and hoisted himself up to sit on the countertop. Now that he was taller than everyone present (including Laurent, which is why I suspect he did it in the first place), he began to address us.

"So, now that everyone else alive has gathered, I guess I'll give the usual opening spiel." He clears his throat. "Welcome to the investigation phase of your embassy life. Here, you will solve, or attempt to solve, the murder of your fellow classmate by doing what everyone does best: panic."

Seeing as how no one took his jibe well, he continues, "In all seriousness, now is the time to search for clues as to whodunnit. You will be given a set amount of time to look around to your hearts' content, in accordance with Rule #5. I'll explain Rule #6 and the Class Trial when the time comes, but until then, I'll give you guys two hours to get things settled, yeah?"

"Um, excuse me?" Yumi raises her hand by my side. "What about Rule #8, Mr. Peace?"

"Hm?" Peace proceeds to pull out his Electro-ID, flipping it on. "Let's see here...Ah. I see what you mean. Well," he gestures to Masashi, Madoka and I, "If I'm right, the three of them saw the body first, yes? In which case, we play the Body Discovery Announcement you heard just now to signal to the rest of you that, obviously, a corpse has been found. That way, people can come running to get the investigation period started."

"No, I meant the 'Monochrome Autopsy' part." Yumi gestures to her own Electro-ID, pointing at the last two words in the rule.

Peace simply smiles, and a familiar voice cuts in, "I'm baaaaaaaack!"

Athena, who was closest to the door, makes way for Monotee as he waddles in, clearly pleased. "It hasn't even been two days and someone's already dead! You guys must have set a new record or something!"

The stern glares of Bree and Gin cause him to visibly wilt. A sweatdrop forms to the side of his forehead, even though that should _really_ be impossible, because last I checked, Monotee was clearly a robot.

 _Freaking machines, how do they work?_

"A-Anyways, since we're proceeding into Investigation Time and whatnot, I've taken the liberty of adding some new features to your Electro-ID!"

I pull open my own Electro-ID and turn it on to reveal just what Monotee has gifted to us all.

* * *

[Home] [Rules] [Profile] **NEW! [Truth Bullets] [Camera] [Record] NEW!**

* * *

 _Truth Bullets? Oh god, is this thing a gun?!_

I drop my Electro-ID in fear, and Misaki squeaks as it bounces off her head onto the floor. "Oi, watch it, spaceman!"

 _Oi, watch it, earth...girl. Nailed it._

Monotee continues his explanation as I pick up my device, the panel on said Electro-ID's back having slid away to reveal a camera. "In the upcoming class trial, you'll have to rely on Truth Bullets to see you through! These are made from one of two things—either a picture of the evidence you have found, along with any necessary comments you want to add for an explanation, or a recording of someone's testimony, which can be infinitely repeated once it's in!" He gestures at Ryu's body. "And since we're _such_ nice hosts, we're gonna give you one free Truth Bullet per trial, and that's the **Monochrome Autopsy** —an autopsy report on the victim and all the necessary information we think is safe to put in!"

"You'll be receiving that in your 'Truth Bullets' tab shortly. Until then, it's ta-tas, my lovelies!" Finishing that, Peace grabs Monotee, lifts him up as if he was a plush toy, and sweeps out of the room.

We stare at each other in silence. Though no one spoke, it was clear everyone had the same thoughts in the forefront of their mind.

 _One of us is a killer. One of us killed Ryuunosuke Fukuzawa, and unless we find out who, that person will get away with it._

The sound of beeping throughout the room indicates that our first clue has arrived, and just like that, the game was afoot.

 _Ugh, game? Damnit, Toku, don't be so morbid, this isn't a game!_

* * *

 **Investigation Time! Acquire Truth Bullets!**

* * *

[Home] [Rules] [Profile] **[Truth Bullets]** [Camera] [Record]

* * *

 _ **==Truth Bullet Acquired!==**_

 _ **==Monochrome Autopsy #1==**_

 _Victim: Ryuunosuke Fukuzawa, SHSL Secret Service Spy_

 _Estimated Time of Death: 1337 hours_

 _Location of Body: Kitchen_

 _Cause of Death: Exsanguination_

 _Extra notes: Due to the delay in discovering the body, it has since bled out._

 _Monotee has been helpful enough to provide us with the bare minimum in terms of what we can infer from Ryu's corpse. While the identity of the victim, location and cause of death are apparent, there's a few things here that peak our interest._

* * *

I glance at the clock. Quarter to six. _That means Ryu has been dead for over four hours..._

Eventually, Yamato broke the silence. "It appears as if we have no choice." He says with a grim look on his face. "The life of a friend…fellow student, has been taken. I know this will be difficult, seeing that one of us is the culprit, but unless we wish to join Ryu, then we need to investigate and find the perpetrator."

After Yamato finished his speech, Bree spoke up. "He's right. If you find anything, and I do mean _anything_ suspicious, record your findings and do hold back once we reach the trial." From the anger in her eyes and her clenched fists, you could tell she was fired up. "Let's bring this bastard to justice."

"Alright, gang, let's split up and search for clues!" Misaki's impression of that one mystery show guy whose name I can't remember is spot-on, and all of us break off into our own little groups to investigate.

Well, almost all of us.

In truth, by the time everyone had found their cliques to explore with, I was left all alone.

Again.

 _I'm getting used to this way too fast…_

Shrugging my shoulders, I decide to look around. If anything, maybe a closer look at Ryu's body will help.

 _If the smell of blood doesn't make me keel over first._

As I suspected, Bree and Yamato are there, and they are checking over his corpse. "Hello, Toku," Bree greets noncommittally, as she lifts his arms to check for any other injuries besides the...obvious.

"Um, can I help in any way?" I ask, feeling slightly queasy already.

"Would you mind taking pictures of his wound? We might be able to analyze them at a later point in time." Yamato asks.

I comply, and snap a few quick shots of his neck. There really aren't any other injuries on his body, and unless the either of them want to undress him to check for bruising, I doubt there will be.

"The depth of the wound is rather shallow, though it has cut through the carotid artery. Monotee's right,it has stopped bleeding, so he's been dead for quite a while." Bree intones, propping his body up and away from the refrigerator. "No other visible wounds and there's only the one cut, so the murderer acted quick, and acted precisely."

* * *

 _ **==Truth Bullet Updated!==**_

 _ **==Monochrome Autopsy #1==**_

 _Pictures: [1] [2] [3]_

* * *

"That's weird." Yamato holds up Ryu's hands. "His palms are completely clean."

"Why's that?" I ask, somewhat confused.

"Usually, when you're cut somewhere, the first thing you would do is place pressure to the wound in order to staunch the bleeding. As a Spy, I'm pretty damn sure Ryu knew how to at least handle that situation." Bree then lets out a sigh and a slow shake of the head, letting his body go limp again.

"To be fair, we _were_ somewhat out of it." I think inwardly for a moment. "When was the last time you guys saw Ryu?"

Yamato ponders my question, before answering, "I think it was around one o'clock that we left him in the cafeteria. He said he wanted to sit down and think, so we moved on to searching our rooms for any other means of escape. If only we had stayed with him…"

"Ah, I get it. Yamato, could you repeat that for a sec, please?" Bree holds her Electro-ID out towards him, and there's a slight beep.

 _She's probably using the [Record] function to make his testimony a truth bullet._

* * *

 _ **==Truth Bullet Acquired!==**_

 _ **==Yamato's Testimony==**_

 _The last time either of the Political Trio_ — _well, Duo_ — _saw Ryu, it was one o'clock, about half an hour before he died. Ryu was in the cafeteria, taking a short rest to think. Hmm...was he killed there or in the kitchen?_

* * *

"Definitely the kitchen." Bree answers in response. She points to the ground, and I see a slight trail of blood towards the body, originating from somewhere near the approximate middle of the kitchen. There, a small, yet significant pool of blood lies, and the small dots that follow show that his body was dragged to where it now lay.

"I'll handle this." I say, taking another set of pictures.

* * *

 _ **==Truth Bullet Acquired!==**_

 _ **==Blood on the Floor==**_

 _The blood patt_ _erns on the floor indicate that Ryu was killed inside of the kitchen, and was dragged to his new position against the fridge._

* * *

"We'll handle the rest here. You should probably be going somewhere else to investigate." The Prosecutor dismisses me with a curt nod. I don't quite have the authority to disagree, so I meekly invite myself out.

 _Where would be the next-best place to find clues?_

I don't even notice I'm walking into someone until Ai's finger pokes my forehead. "Oi, careful, you're gonna bowl over the three of us."

I shake my head. The effects of the lack of sleep clearly haven't left me, because suddenly, I've found myself in the dorms.

 ***~Shotaro ~ Dorm Hallway**

 _Huh. Anyways, it looks like I was just about to run into her, Masashi and Madoka._

"Hello, Toku." Masashi greets. "If you're wondering why we're here, I'm helping Madoka return to his room to wash his head."

I glance at the now-dried layer of blood, and wince. _Yikes. What happened to you anyways to cause something like that?_

We stop at a door marked with a white cross against a blue backdrop. I faintly recognize it as the Saltire, which means Madoka's room must be—

 ***~Shotaro ~ Madoka's Dorm: "Scotland"**

"I'd tell you to make yourself at home, but this isn't really home for anyone, is it?" Madoka says, before disappearing into the bathroom.

As I sit down on the Loch Ness Monster-inspired sofa, I take a good look around. Madoka's room is coloured a garish shade of ginger-red, though it is offset by the many decorations. The largest of which is a wine cabinet that spans the wall opposite to the bed; the bed itself has a kilt-patterned blanket, and has a few sheep plushies placed around it. What's most distracting is the tens of bagpipes placed all around the room, with a whole row of those hanging against the wall, and one more shoved haphazardly amongst the bottles in the wine cabinet.

"Unfortunately, they're all empty. Then again, none of us are really at the minimum required drinking age, so it's a moot point." Ai reveals.

"You've been in here before?" I ask out of curiosity.

Her expression turns thoughtful. "Earlier today, like at one-twenty or something, someone slipped a letter under the Russian dorm next door, which is mine."

Taking out a piece of folded paper, she reveals it to me and Masashi, who takes a picture of it.

"Eh, it could be useful, who knows?" she responds to my inquisitive look.

* * *

 _ **==Truth Bullet Acquired!==**_

 _ **==Ai's Letter==**_

 _Dear Ai, can we talk? Meet me in the lounge, and come without your cousin, because this is a girls' meeting. Thanks._

 _Well, that certainly doesn't seem suspicious. Not at all._

* * *

"So I got the letter, and I went over here to tell Madoka about it. He didn't really mind or anything, just said that he would be in the kitchen while I was away or something. Considering it was around lunchtime, yeah."

 _Seems legit. It would explain why Madoka and Ai were apart from each other, but for four hours though?_

"Oh, right, here." Ai continues, tapping into her Electro-ID. Moments later, a series of beeps sound out.

I check the newly-keyed in Truth Bullet.

* * *

 _ **==Truth Bullet Acquired!==**_

 _ **==Madoka's Bloody Head==**_

 _Pictures: [1] [2]_

 _A pair of pictures showing Madoka's head as he was found. The blood has presumably dried up, but the question is how he got it on him._

* * *

"Eh, it could be useful, who knows?" she riffs back in a manner directly similar to Masashi, who laughs alongside her.

It stops as the gravity of the situation sinks back in, and even though none of us wanted to ask it, we all had the same thought in mind. Their eyes flitting in the direction of the bathroom speaks that much.

 _What's Madoka's involvement in all of this?_

The sound of running water stops, and seconds later, the door opens.

"Madoka?" I start, turning to face him, who had just emerged from his bathroom in his underclothes, a towel still in his hair.

Presumably, he catches the look on our faces. "Keep on talking, I'm listening," he affirms, going over to pick up his signature chef's jacket.

"What exactly...happened in the kitchen?" Although I felt uncomfortable asking, I knew I had to.

The Food Critic responded by crossing his arms and giving me a disappointed and somewhat pained look. "Believe me when I say I wish I could tell you, but I can't seem to remember anything past a certain point in time. It's just...I honestly don't know."

Before I could continue, another voice breaks in. "My my," Ai pipes in, holding a hand over her mouth to hide an amused smile. "Already jumping to conclusions, Toku? Seems a tad bit too early for that."

"No, no! That's not it at all!" I exclaim, frantically waving my hands in a defensive manner. "I just want to hear your side of the story and how you and Ryu ended up there."

 _Even if it isn't him, Madoka was still there. He's bound to shed some light on this…_

After a moment of him biting his lip, probably trying to determine the sincerity of my last statement, he lets out a sigh. "The memories are still hazy, but I'll tell you what I can conclusively remember. I assume Ai told you about how she went to the lounge?"

As he says that, he shoots her a look. "It's fair for Toku to be suspicious, by the way. I'm pretty sure you and Masashi want to know too."

"You're right as always, my dear," the Fencer affirms, a crack of worry showing through that usually confident face.

 _She really does care about him, doesn't she?_

"Well, I went to the kitchen to prepare a little something for lunch. I cook to destress, anyways—but that's besides the point. What is, is that I did see Ryu by himself in the cafeteria and I waved to him before heading into the kitchen itself."

He frowns. "From then on, I only remember finishing the batter for my fish and chips. Everything from that point on is a hazy mess, until the point I woke up." A sigh. "I returned to consciousness on the floor next to a cabinet, caught sight of Ryu, and didn't want to stay in the kitchen any longer, which leads me to just a while ago, when I banged on the door."

"...Is that it?" Ai asks, and I can hear concern in her voice. Today's certainly a day for firsts. "Nothing else?"

He winces in pain as he puts a hand to his head. "I'm really sorry, Ai, you all, I really can't remember anything else. I just completely went under—"

A sharp intake of breath from both sides, and in perfect synchronization, they speak, "But how could that happen?"

I catch on just as Masashi finishes their line of thought. "I only remember the alarm playing once throughout the whole of today!" she proclaims. "If you just dozed off, how did you continue to _stay_ unconscious?

 _She's right. If Madoka simply dozed off, the alarm would have been playing non-stop until he woke up. Yet, except for that one time in the middle of my walk, the alarm hadn't gone off since then. Did Ryu's death shut off the alarm?_

 _More information is needed. For now, I'll key in what I already have._

* * *

 _ **==Truth Bullet Acquired!==**_

 _ **==Madoka's Testimony==**_

 _Madoka says while he was preparing lunch, he blacked out somehow, and only came to a few minutes before we found him and Ryu's corpse. Madoka also says that Ryu was alone in the cafeteria before he went to prepare lunch._

* * *

 _In any case, one thing this does confirm is that Ryu was alone in the cafeteria. It matches up with what Yamato had said earlier, so it should be credible._

"Urgh." Madoka places a hand to the back of his cranium, groaning. "Okay, I get that I couldn't stay awake and all, but why the heck does my head still hurt?"

"Here, let me take a look at it." Masashi offers. Being of the same height as her, Madoka moves to sit down to offer a more convenient view.

Her hands find something in his blond hair, for he yells sharply in pain. "I would greatly appreciate it if you didn't do that again, please."

"Done and done, but yikes, Madoka, you've got a really bad bruise. It's cooled down and all, but you still have a bit of a lump there."

She quickly takes a picture, and the beeps sound a moment later.

* * *

 _ **==Truth Bullet Acquired!==**_

 _ **==Madoka's Concussion==**_

 _Pictures: [1]_

 _He must have fallen on something when he fell unconscious, because there's a nasty bump on the back of his head. It's considerably less swollen than it probably was when it was received, indicating the amount of time that has passed._

* * *

"You poor, poor man," is all we hear before Masashi decides to bury her head into his back, hugging his waist. "Whoever hurt you will be—"

Ai promptly gets up and pushes her away. "Hey, lay off him, he's injured and needs rest," she says with a tinge of jealousy.

"No."

Madoka's voice breaks the imminent squabble, as he moves for the door. "I can't rest, not now. There are things I have to do first. Ai, Masashi, Toku, the three of you should continue investigating elsewhere. I'll just…"

He shakes his head. "Just, take care, you guys, alright?" And the door closes behind him.

We stay there, unsure of what to do next, before Masashi grabs me by the shoulders. "Toku," she says, the determination hard in her eyes. "Do you think Madoka is lying about all he just said and actually killed Ryu?"

Her question takes me by surprise, but I stammer out a reply, "N-No...I d-don't think he's lying. It's not him."

She nods in relief, before addressing me again. "Then let's do all we can. Ryu was a good man, and I'm sure whoever killed him tried to pin it on Madoka. I don't like that, so let's get to the bottom of this, shall we?"

I nod. I wasn't willing to believe Madoka was capable of the act.

"Go talk to him." Ai pipes up, reclining on the sofa. "Call it a relative's intuition, but I think there's something he's not quite willing to tell me or Masashi, but he might tell you."

"You guys figured out how you're related to each other?" I ask curiously.

She shakes her head, but the smile remains. "He's a Tachibana. Even if we aren't closely related, I'm perfectly willing to think of him as family."

 _It's nice to know that they think so highly of him, and that's just after spending a few days with Madoka...I kinda wish people would care about me like that too..._

Opening the door, I surprise Harper, who was standing outside, her fist raised in mid-knock—or at least it was in mid-knock when I opened it.

 _Donk._ "Ow."

"Oops, sorry, Toku!" Harper apologizes sheepishly. "I was just, you know, um, kinda, yeah."

 _That really didn't explain anything…_

"Oh hey, Harpy!" Ai calls out from inside the room. "Sorry we didn't finish our conversation last time!"

"Huh? Last time?" I ask.

This prompts the Pianist to get to her feet. She takes out her Electro-ID, and the jigsaw pieces fall into place.

"Harper, can you vouch that I, Ai, was with you when Ryu died?" she asks.

The Digital Artist responds immediately to the prompt. "Indeed I can! I had been resting in the lounge for quite some time earlier today. At one-thirty, Ai walked in expecting to meet the person who mailed a letter to her, but no one showed up. Following that, she stayed at the lounge and we rested together because we were too tired to move!"

Pausing to think, she finished off her train of thought with, "I think we only got up when I needed to go to the toilet, and after that, Ryu had already been found!"

* * *

 _ **==Truth Bullet Acquired!==**_

 _ **==Harper's Testimony==**_

 _Harper was at the lounge around one-thirty when Ai walked in. She didn't send the letter to Ai, but kept her company, and they didn't move from the location until much later, when Ryu's corpse was found._

* * *

"Thanks for reminding me to do that. Now if you will excuse me, we're gonna take a nap in the time we have left before the trial. Cheerio!" And with that, Ai drags Harper into the room, and slams the door in my face.

Literally. I stumble back, rubbing my nose, still sore from when Harper knocked against it the first time. _Ow..._

Seeing as how re-entering the room will probably get my nose broken for real, I turn tail and walk down the hallway in the direction of the cafeteria.

I catch up to Madoka around a corner, and recount the events that have transpired up to then, including Masashi's plea.

"They care for me that much?" he sighs, and I can't make out any happiness in his voice. "I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing."

"It's a good thing, isn't it? They're worried for you, you know?" I say.

"..."

 _He looks lost in thought. Guess he's not going to respond to that._

We walk quietly for a bit, before I find the tension too quiet to bear. "So...What do you think happened?" I ask in an effort to break the silence.

His answer shocks me somewhat, because it comes in a strained, nervous voice. It's a tone I've never heard from the usually-confident Food Critic, but I suppose circumstances tend to have that effect on everyone. "Unfortunately, I have a very good theory as to who killed Ryu, and I'm not looking forward to having to explain it to the others."

"How so?" I question, crossing the now-empty cafeteria.

He doesn't answer as we enter the kitchen once again.

 ***~ Shotaro ~ Kitchen**

Bree and Yamato are gone, and in their place are Misaki, Athena and Laurent. All three greet us with a nod as we walk in, and we do the same in return.

"Good news, Madoka." Laurent steps forward, holding the jars that Peace deposited earlier. "I'm pleased to announce that these are authentic Arabica coffee beans, and as such, we should be able to brew some coffee at long last."

"That's good to hear. Would you mind passing some of them over?" He receives the expected jar, and moves to his usual position by the counter. He reaches for something, grabs at nothing, and pauses.

"Um...Does anyone know what happened to the mixing bowl? I'm pretty sure I last used it this afternoon, so it should still be around here somewhere," he queries.

Athena motions to behind her, where she's gathering what appears to be shards of glass on the floor. "Well, I suppose now I know what I was busy collecting. Your mixing bowl must have fallen along with you."

* * *

 _ **==Truth Bullet Acquired!==**_

 _ **==Glass Mixing Bowl==**_

 _The kitchen's mixing bowl was found on the ground, shattered. Madoka remembers using it last_ — _it likely broke when he fell unconscious, right?_

* * *

"That's a shame. I suppose I'll have to work around it." Taking a smaller, wooden bowl, he gets to work on grating the coffee beans. "Get me a pan, then, at least those should be in their proper positions."

Misaki salutes him, before performing her best Saturday morning cartoon impression. "Aye aye, captain!"

Bending down (an easy feat for someone as short as her), she reaches into the appropriate cabinet and pulls out a frying pan at random. Her face contorts with confusion. "What kind of second-rate thrift shop frying pan did Tweedledum and Tweedledee provide us with? There ain't suppose to be a dent in 'em, I tell ya!"

 _A dent?_

I walk towards her to get a closer look. To my surprise, she's right; the pan has a fairly big indentation in the middle of its underside, as if it was used to hit something, like a particularly large cockroach.

Misaki decides to take it down. Even if it isn't important, in her words, "We can sue 'em for poor quality products!"

* * *

 _ **==Truth Bullet Acquired!==**_

 _ **==Dented Frying Pan==**_

 _This frying pan has been dented. That's about it, really._

* * *

"Not really." Athena crouches down, and points to something I hadn't really noticed. On the bottom of the cabinet, contrasting against the wood, is a series of stains.

But not just any kind of stains, because these are coloured _pink_.

"Bloodstains?" I ask. "Where could they have come from?"

"If I were to hazard a guess, I'll say it's from the—how did you call it?—the 'second-rate thrift shop frying pan'." Athena concludes, taking a picture. "What else could have been the cause?"

"The Kool-Aid man came along, maybe?" is the response from Misaki.

Unsurprisingly, the Mathematician is very much unimpressed. "Yeah, and next thing you know, you'll be telling me _he_ murdered Ryu."

The mental image of a giant pitcher of drink crashing through the kitchen wall to bludgeon Ryu leaves a very sour aftertaste in my mouth.

* * *

 _ **==Truth Bullet Acquired!==**_

 _ **==Bloodstains==**_

 _Pictures: [1]_

 _Bloodstains were found on the back of the frying pan. What could have caused them to get there?_

* * *

Passing over a normal pan, we return to searching the kitchen for any extra clues.

I turn my attention over to Laurent, who is checking up on Ryu's body. "Hmm…" he says out loud. "I'm surprised no one has thought of archiving the knife as a Truth Bullet. Perhaps they think it's too easy to have been the murder weapon?"

"Where did the knife come from, anyways?" I ask, just as curious.

 _I mean, sure, this is a kitchen and all, but I don't see any visible knives in our vicinity._

The answer comes from Madoka, who has just placed a baking tray into the oven. "The knives happen to be in the top-most drawer over here," he shares, simultaneously placing one of said knives back into said drawer. "I should mention that this is not where they usually are when I bring them back to the kitchen, which is strange."

 _You bring what back to the what now?_

Laurent stands up. "Can you elaborate, _s'il vous plait_?" he requests.

"This morning, after breakfast, I took the set of knives back to my room to polish. Following that, I brought them out again during lunchtime, whereupon I left them there," he says, pointing to an area of the countertop closer to the door, but within arm's reach. "As I've said, they've mysteriously relocated themselves to this drawer, and one of them has also found a new home on the kitchen floor."

Misaki takes the opportunity to snap pictures of both the knife on the floor and the insides of the drawer. I open my Electro-ID to see a well-buffed row of knives, of which one is clearly missing. Judging by how the knives increase in size down the line, it's not hard to put two and two together.

* * *

 _ **==Truth Bullet Acquired!==**_

 _ **==Set of Knives==**_

 _Pictures: [1] [2]_

 _Madoka brought these knives back to his room to polish them after breakfast, and subsequently brought them back to the kitchen during lunch, just before the murder. In the time between, the knives changed locations, and one of them [2] was likely the weapon used to kill Ryu._

* * *

"So, does anyone else have any other clues?" I ask.

Athena shakes her head. "I do not believe there are any other clues left to be found in the kitchen. I shall take my leave in order to discern if there may be some clues that we missed elsewhere. Farewell."

After she leaves, Laurent turns to Madoka. "Can I ask that you deliver _une noisette_ to me by the time our investigation ends?"

" _Oui._ I'm making a little something-something for everyone first," he replies, gesturing to the oven. "I'll have your black coffee ready by later."

" _Merci_." Laurent scribbles something down in his notebook, before turning to face Misaki and I. "Do take care, you two. I shall hope that we are able to uncover the mysteries behind this murder."

As he walks out of the door, I prepare to walk out as well, before a hand tugs my jacket. I turn around, and Misaki's doleful brown eyes look up at me. "Um...can we talk a little?" she asks. "Just the two of us."

I shrug. No harm there, right?

We sit down at one of the tables in the cafeteria, before Misaki reaches into her pocket and pulls out...something. It looks like a charm of some sort, with a rhinestone tip followed by a bunch of multicolored ribbons.

"Ryu was holding this in his right hand," she explains. "And the problem is that I'm faintly aware I've seen this little hair charm somewhere before. I just don't remember who wore it."

I think back to everyone I've met, and draw a blank.

 _Can't tell who could have worn it either._

"Still, I'm thinking, since the Truth Bullet System has a private function to keep personal Truth Bullets, do you think it's a good idea to record this down secretly? It might be the breakthrough in our upcoming trial."

I nod in response to her words. It's a safe bet that if we were to share this evidence with the rest of the class, it might tip off the real killer.

* * *

 _ **==Personal Truth Bullet Acquired!==**_

 _ **==Hair Charm==**_

 _A small, beautiful hair decoration. Ryu's corpse was clutching it in his right hand… Could he have grabbed it from the murderer?_

* * *

Putting down the Electro-ID, I smile at the Mimic. "It's a good find, Misaki. Did you happen to get anything else?"

"Well…" her voice trails off. "I dunno how relevant this is, but I was resting in one of the lobby's alcoves when the alarm went off, and something...kinda felt wrong about it."

"Really?" I think back to what else I've heard about the alarm today. _Now that I think about it, the alarm sounded out, but how did it end again?_

"Yeah, really!" Misaki looks back and forth, before whispering, "I think-"

Suddenly, our Electro-IDs ping, and as I open it, I see it is a Truth Bullet that Athena has shared.

* * *

 _ **==Truth Bullet Acquired!==**_

 _ **==Alarm==**_

 _The alarm that sounded earlier today seemed to only last a total of two minutes. What could have caused it to shut off so early?_

* * *

"...Huh. Well, there goes my big reveal." Misaki huffs. "Ah well, I'm not surprised, but yeah, the alarm didn't play all the way. And I'm not quite sure why either!"

 _I'm pretty sure I know what caused it, but I'll save that information for the trial._

"Well, anyways, continuing on, I was in that alcove and all, when I think I kinda saw an OK pass by!"

 _A what now?_

"You know, a guy and a girl?" she shakes her head, before her voice switches to a distinctly male one—how does she do that so fast?! "I call ladies 'O'. To me, 'O' is feminine, 'K' is masculine, and when I see one of each, I'm like 'OK'!"

I pause to let that piece of information sink in. _That had to be a reference to something, otherwise she wouldn't have gone through so much trouble to do it._

"Go on." I motion. The point still needed to be gotten to.

She pouts in that cute way that Suzuka's been known to do from time to time. "I saw one guy and one girl leave from the cafeteria separately and all, but something didn't quite match...I dunno whether it was because of my lack of sleep or something, but their voices were kinda switched around."

 _Huh? What even-_ "I'm sorry, what?"

"The guy had a girl's voice and the girl had a guy's voice!" she waves her hands wildly. "I really don't know how else to explain it, Toku!"

The look in her eyes convinces me that she's telling the truth, but I have no idea what to make of her statement. Regardless, I note it down as a personal Truth Bullet—partially because I'm still not quite sure how the others will take to it for now.

* * *

 _ **==Personal Truth Bullet Acquired!==**_

 _ **==Misaki's Testimony==**_

 _Misaki was spurned by the sound of the alarm, and remained fairly awake after that. She distinctly recalls seeing and hearing one boy and one girl leave the cafeteria doors separately. Well, sort of—she says their voices were mixed up._

* * *

The door leading into the cafeteria from the lobby opens, and Iso walks in. "Heyo, Misaki, Toku."

"Hiya, Iso!" Misaki greets, and I hold a hand up and wave. He takes a seat by us, and the look in his eyes is of a guy raring to share something.

"I've been rewinding through what I saw in the day, and I've just hit upon something that didn't really make any sense," he confesses. "Mind hearing me out to check whether it even holds any weight?"

"Sure, what it'd be, cap'n?" Misaki salutes.

Taking a moment to recompose himself, he explains, "I don't know when exactly I saw it, but I clearly remember seeing both Madoka and Ryu in the kitchen. Madoka had his back to me, and Ryu was sitting on the countertop, so I think they were both alive at that time."

 _Well, Madoka's clearly still alive, I'll give you that._

"But yeah, I think I called out to ask if they were doing fine, and Madoka said they were, so I left," he scratches his head. "Now that I think about it, Madoka sounded a bit weird too. Probably because he was already injured, seeing the aftereffects, concussion and all."

 _So if he was still conscious with Ryu, this would place it to be before Ryu died, right? In that case, I wonder why Madoka would sound funny, because you're supposed to pass out after getting a concussion, right?_

I record it down anyways.

* * *

 _ **==Truth Bullet Acquired!==**_

 _ **==Iso's Testimony==**_

 _Iso thinks he saw Ryu and Madoka in the kitchen, at a point in time where they were both still alive and conscious. He called out to ask if they were doing fine, and Madoka responded that they were, though his voice then sounded a bit strange. We've attributed that to his concussion._

* * *

All of a sudden, the intercom crackles to life.

" **Attention, attention, all my lovelies!"** Monotee's tinny voice sounds out. " **The investigation period is now over! Please report to the conference room to begin the class trial on the double!"**

The three of us look at each other, before nodding in agreement and leaving the cafeteria.

We reach the conference room pretty late, because almost everyone else has already gathered in front of the presumably locked door. "Heya, Toku, have you seen Madoka?" Masashi asks, and I wince.

"Well—" "I'm right here, yes."

Thankfully, Madoka's interruption spares me the need to answer, and I look at him gratefully, even if he won't get why. I notice he is carrying both a cup of coffee and two three-by-three boxes of what appear to be…

"Cupcakes?" Yumi finishes my train of thought, as Laurent accepts the coffee with much thanks.

"Yep. I baked one for everyone to keep our spirits going, and our mind alert. Go on, help yourself." Madoka responds, opening the boxes and passing them around.

I study what the Food Critic has given us. It's a dark-brown cupcake, covered in white icing, and looks relatively simple, which makes sense since Madoka couldn't have been baking it for long.

 _No harm in eating it, right?_

The moment I do, I feel completely re-energized—as expected, the cupcake is coffee-flavored, and the amount of caffeine in it is enough to shock my systems back awake. It's the perfect balance of bitter and sweet.

Misaki's entire body shudders with energy as the cupcake's restorative powers work their magic on her. "It's so fluffy!" she squeals in delight.

The rest of us all have similar reactions of joy, and it might be the first time I've seen Kagaku smile at eating something. The mood is broken by the sound of our Electro-IDs beeping again.

* * *

 _ **==Truth Bullet Acquired!==**_

 _ **==Coffee Cupcakes==**_

 _Madoka baked these for the remaining members of the class. Could be doing so to gain sympathy from everyone else? Did he spike the cupcakes?_

* * *

... _Let's try not to think about who would consider an act of goodwill suspicious._

Judging by the scowl on Masashi's face, directed at Kokushi who glares back as we re-enter the conference room, she doesn't share my thoughts.

I run through the list of Truth Bullets I have, public and private. I attempt to connect them to a person or persons, but I can't seem to find anything.

 _One of us killed Ryu, that much is certain. But who do the clues point to?_

 _...Hang on, why did Ryu even go inside the kitchen anyways?_

 **Author's Postscript:**

 _Hello everyone, it is Mod Rev. So you are probably all screaming at us for that faux-death, but hey, gotta keep this interesting somehow. We never really intended on killing Madoka off first anyways, but I hope the shock was enough to get you people motivated! I hope you all enjoyed what is probably our longest chapter yet. - Rev_

 _Ah, murder. Sweet, sweet murder. Guess you didn't see that coming, huh? Round of applause to Rev and SD for writing this story's longest chapter! *claps* We hope you enjoy this chapter, especially a certain someone. RIP Ryu, he was a great character who honestly didn't deserve to die, but it was his time. We also couldn't pass up the chance of an ironic first victim. Ryu, you will be missed. Oh yeah, if you go to my Tumblr, simplyweird85, then you can go see the sprites I made for the EoD cast under the tag #eod. Enjoy!- Hero_

 _And this is precisely what happens when you have to deal with me on the planning team. C'mon, did you_ _ **honestly**_ _think I was going to let my precious ikemen cinnamon roll die like that? And apparently being shot, at that? Tsk tsk. In any case, it's almost time to hit class trial, and with enough guessing and common sense, I think the murderer's pretty easy to finger out. That being said, I'll leave you guys to work on it, and feel free to PM any one of us with your ideas and guesses. Happy theorizing, guys! - SD_


	15. DOCS 2-7

***~ Shotaro ~ Courtroom**

"This way, if you please, my lovelies." Peace holds open a door in the conference room, leading deeper into the embassy.

Passing through it leads to a fairly large auditorium-like setting, fully air-conditioned and decadent to a fault. As we emerge from the door, I crane my neck around to take in the sheer majesty of the room.

A large projector screen takes up most of the space above the door that we entered from. Above the projector screen, on a wide balcony, is what appears to be two golden thrones, modeled after the same ones I last saw in the conference room not five minutes ago. What catches most of our eyes is the contraption sitting between the two of them, because even though I haven't touched one myself, I can clearly see that—

"It's a slot machine, huh?" Harper asks, though no one answers. She doesn't press the matter further.

The other wall is circular, and spans the rest of the courtroom. Seventeen desks are built into the circumference; each has its own door flap to allow someone to enter each 'cubicle' and a wooden centre. Each desk also has a desk name plate and a plaquette built into it, with the name of the student and what I'm guessing is the nationality of their room engraved into the bronze, which glints under the lights built into the ceiling. This entire layout feels like a snow globe that fell over.

I try to imagine how the room must look like from the outside. No luck.

Strangely, the lights aren't all arranged nicely—they're also in a rounded formation, leaving the middle of the ceiling free of any beacons. Instead, seven segments joined together to form a perfect circle in a spiral-like pattern, giving the impression that there's something above them, waiting to come down on us.

 _...Well, if that isn't ominous, what is?_

A spotlight falls upon Peace, who has taken his spot on one of the golden thrones. "I've spent quite some time in the last few days redesigning this place for you guys, so be thankful, alright? Anyways, your podium of sorts is registered with your name and country, so do be good children and go to your assigned spots, okay? Thank you!"

Seeing as how there's nothing else to do, I look around. Yamato takes his position furthest to the right at Podium #17: Romania, while Bree takes her spot next to him at Podium #16: Ireland. As Iso jumps over his desk to make it into Podium #5: Spain, my eyes finally settle on my own spot.

Podium #9: Switzerland.

 _That means I'm directly opposite the screen and the balcony. Front-row seats, huh?_

Once we're all settled in, Peace smiles. "Alright, let's get down to business, shall we? Something we can all agree on is that one of you here killed Ryuunosuke Fukuzawa, the Super High School Level Secret Service Spy. The culprit has committed the murder, but now, in this trial, they must attempt to get away with said murder. If they manage to succeed, by pinning the deed on someone else or methods otherwise, they'll be free to leave the embassy, while everyone else will be punished. On the other hand, only they will be punished in the event the rest of you are able to determine who the fiend among you is. Clear?"

"Um…" Hayana raises her hand meekly. "May I ask what kind of punishment that is?"

"No can do." The Matchmaker shrugs. "Just go with the motions, and you'll find out either way, right? Now where is that manatee when you need him?"

We wait in awkward silence for the second of our second host to appear. During this time, those of us who hadn't finished our cupcakes take the opportunity to do so, and as I dust the crumbs from my tabletop, I glance at the leftmost end of our seats. Podium #1: England was empty, and in its place is a stand with a faded out picture of Ryu, two pistols painted the color of blood in an X formation over it.

 _Ryu...We'll solve this. Somehow._

 _I hope..._

Soon enough, a familiar, high-pitched voice breaks the awkward silence. "Sorry I'm late! Again! Why didn't I get a cupcake, huh?"

Madoka raises an eyebrow as Monotee pops up from a hole in the second throne. "You can eat?" he asks.

"You bet I can! I primarily feast on seaweed, clams, seaweed, fishies, seaweed, the occasional Monohawk, and seaweed!" the animatronic rattles off, and not for the first time since we've arrived, we're left staring blankly as he pulls out a large tupperware box of...seaweed.

 _How did I guess?_

"So we should probably start, it's like eight o'clock at night, and I need my beauty sleep!" Monotee giggles, before clapping his flippers together.

With the sound of the clap reverberating through the room, in the ceiling above, lit lanterns descend, shining all around us.

Soft, pale blue light fills the courtroom, as the massive number of magic lanterns bathe us all. The projector comes to life, and as it boots up, soft, uptempo music begins to play in the background.

I should have called it a pretty sight, but considering the circumstances we were in, it was anything but.

As we continue to watch the lanterns shift around in awe, Monotee produces a gavel seemingly out of nowhere, and bangs the business end down on the wood railing of the balcony.

"Let's get started with the proceedings! I call this session to order!" Monotee declares, as the projection begins to broadcast our standing arrangements.

* * *

 _ **Podium #1: Ryuunosuke Fukuzawa, England (X)**_

 _ **Podium #2: Hayana Shiki, Austria**_

 _ **Podium #3: Kagaku Rabo, Hungary**_

 _ **Podium #4: Athena Klein, Netherlands**_

 _ **Podium #5: Iso Kurokami, Spain**_

 _ **Podium #6: Misaki Mio, Luxembourg**_

 _ **Podium #7: Kokushi Hirose, Germany**_

 _ **Podium #8: Yumi Hirose, Italy**_

 _ **Podium #9: Shotaro Tokuda, Switzerland**_

 _ **Podium #1o: Masashi Hayabusa, Poland**_

 _ **Podium #11: Laurent Corveleyn, France**_

 _ **Podium #12: Harper Atkins, Sweden**_

 _ **Podium #13: Madoka Tachibana, Scotland**_

 _ **Podium #14: Ai Tachibana, Russia**_

 _ **Podium #15: Gin Zoo, Belarus**_

 _ **Podium #16: Bree Lawe, Ireland**_

 _ **Podium #17: Yamato Kazumi, Romania**_

 _ **Throne #1: Peace Breaker, Japan**_

 _ **Throne #2: Monotee, Antarctica**_

* * *

 _ **COURT IS NOW IN SESSION!**_

* * *

"Welcome to the trial interface!" Monotee explains. "This state-of-the-art, brand-spanking new courtroom was only made possible through the efforts of yours truly! Oh, and Peace for actually doing all the hard work, because I don't pay him to sit around and do nothing, after all."

Even from down here, we can all hear Peace grumble. "You don't pay me at all…"

"I'm not listening! Huehuehuehuehue!" Monotee coughs. "Ahem, anyways. During the course of this trial, you'll be using those Truth Bullets you picked up on over the course of your investigation. All of this information has been recorded into your Electro-IDs for your convenience!"

I take out my electro-ID and lo and behold, Monotee was telling the truth. All of the evidence we found for the case was in a quite literally, bulleted list.

After the others finish checking out the list, a voice sounds out.

"Uh…"

It takes a moment to place the source of the voice, but once I do, it's fairly obvious as to why she spoke. Misaki's eyes barely peek over the podium, showing slight distress.

"Oh my. I am so sorry, lil' miss! Hang on, I'll be back to give you a boost!" Peace apologizes from his throne, before getting up and disappearing to the back. He reappears a minute later on our floor, holding a fairly large crate, and walks through the circle of podiums to deposit it over the counter to Luxembourg's occupant.

"Thank you…" is all Misaki manages before he turns to leave, presumably back upstairs. She gets onto the crate, and ends up standing at a more reasonable height, just slightly lower than Kokushi.

I turn my attention back to the list of evidence, giving it another once over.

Monotee patiently waits for a few moments, presumably to make sure Misaki's situated before speaking out, "I see everyone is all ready to go! With that, I leave it to you all to find out who murdered Ryuunosuke Fukuzawa. If you ever need something else clarified, just ask me or my lovely serv- I mean, partner, huehuehue."

Peace turns his head to give a subtle glare at Monotee. "Don't think I didn't hear that…"

Monotee laughs again before saying, "Peace and I will be watching, so don't try any funny business, okay? If so, then let the long-awaited class trial begin! Huehuehuehuehue!"

The moments that follow are unusually tense, with all of us staring at each other, daring one another to make the first move.

 _We're really going to have to do this huh? We're really going to have to accuse each other of murder..._

"Ahem…" Bree breaks the silence, as all of our eyes shift on her. "If nobody minds, I'll start us off?"

 _Oh yeah, prosecutor, right. She's probably done this a whole lotta times by now._

"I guess I will start with an opening statement." Bree lets out a heavy sigh and cracks her knuckles. "The victim as we all know is Ryuunosuke Fukuzawa, the SHSL Secret Service Spy. According to the files Monotee gave us, he was killed at 1337 hours, from blood loss due to a slit throat."

The reminder of how Ryu died gives me prompts a sickening, stirring feeling inside my stomach.

As I try to shake of the feeling of dread away, Bree continues. "Additionally, while he is not dead, Madoka was found at the scene, barely conscious, with a nasty head injury. As of now, due to the general inconclusivity of the case, however, we will focus on who killed Ryuunosuke first before determining his assailant, because that is more important. Is that alright with you all?"

As we nod, her fingers tap away on the Electro-ID, opening up the Truth Bullet menu to select the very first one we received. With a press of a button, Bree starts broadcasting the Monochrome Autopsy for us all to see on our own Electro-IDs.

"Interesting…" Masashi says to my right. "I know this is probably stating the obvious, but I can't help but marvel that it took us so long to realize that Ryu died. The motive must have affected us more heavily than I thought."

Yumi grimaces. "But where do we go on from here?"

It is at that moment Peace chuckles. "Hey, hey, I forgot to brief you guys on something! Eyes on the projector screen!" He says excitedly.

I turn away from my Electro-ID, and faced the screen as he starts to explain.

Scrolling across the screen are the words that have been spoken so far since Bree started with her opening statement, up to what Peace has just said. In fact, words continue to form as Peace continues, "This is the **Nonstop Debate** interface that Hope's Peak has perfected! Simply put, you guys will all participate in a frantic discussion regarding the topic at hand, and at any time, if you think you have something to bring up…"

He mimes pointing a gun at the screen with his Electro-ID. "Arm yourself with the truth bullet you want to bring up, and shoot! Simple as that!"

He ends his tutorial, but not before he gives us words of encouragement that I didn't really find all too encouraging, "Do your best, my beauties!"

* * *

 **==Nonstop Debate!==**

 _Weak points are in_ _italics_ _, break points are in both_ _ **bold and italics**_ _._

 _Ammunition loaded:_ _**Monochrome Autopsy #1, Hair Charm, Set of Knives**_

 **==Begin!==**

Bree: ...Anyways, as it should be made painfully clear by now, _Ryu's body was found in the kitchen._

Yamato: He would not have gone down easily, considering his talent and size.

Kokushi: That being said, it's obvious that this was _a surprise attack_.

Kokushi: Which begs the question - what exactly transpired in the kitchen?

Athena: It should be simple to determine, is it not?

Athena: Whoever the murderer was, they acquired a knife through some means…

Harper: And they slit Ryu's throat! Now, how did they get the knife though?

Kagaku: Are we to believe that _**no one knows where the knife came from**_?

 _Wait a moment..._

Quickly, I open the Truth Bullets tab. Selecting the one I needed, I bring my hand up, and crosshairs appear on the projector screen. Locking onto Kagaku's words, I mime firing an actual gun, causing an animation of the Truth Bullet I selected to appear on the side of the screen. It then flies towards the suspended words. The projectile connects and shatters the chain of words to pieces, and I can't help but say something.

 **==Counter!==**

Shotaro: **I'm sorry, but uh...that's not in tune!** (Fired: _**Set of Knives**_ )

* * *

 _ **BREAK!**_

* * *

 _...Really, Toku? You couldn't help yourself, couldn't you?_

When everyone focused their attention on me, I cough awkwardly before continuing, "A-A-Anyways. Kagaku, the **Set of Knives** from the kitchen was moved from their normal spot, so I guess one of them was used to kill Ryu?"

"Well, they were in the kitchen, so it would make sense if that was the case." Kagaku says, nodding in agreement. "A knife would definitely be easy to acquire."

"So…." Iso starts, yawning as he twirls a braid with his finger, "It must have been someone who knew there was a knife set there?"

Madoka shakes his head. "It's a kitchen, Iso. Aside from that, I would have thought last night's dinner should have clued everyone in that I had access to standard kitchen equipment, which unfortunately includes the set of knives."

Iso thumps himself on the head, "Right, right...sorry. I'm really tired so I thought I was onto something..." Iso trailed off with another yawn.

"I'm curious, though." Misaki enlarges the truth bullet on her screen. "What does the part about you taking the knives back to your room mean? It's not like changing the position of the knives would do anything, would it?"

 _Hold on...Would it do anything? I have the answer to that, don't I?_

* * *

 **==SELECT!==**

1) It means the knives weren't used in the murder

 **2) It means the knives weren't present in the kitchen until the murder**

3) It means the knives are expensive

4) It means Madoka is attracted to knives

Shotaro: **I pick...this one.**

* * *

"Actually, it would, Misaki." I bring up the exact wording on the Truth Bullet. "Madoka 'subsequently brought them back to the kitchen during lunch, just before the murder'—this means that the knives were only present a short while before Ryu died."

"So that maybe means that Madoka's assailant and Ryu's murderer are one and the same?" asks Gin, who strokes his chin in ponderment.

"That statement shows merit, monsieur. Though I think it folly to up and throw away the prospect of there being a struggle; we should address that later." Laurent adjusts his glasses. "Do we have an appropriate timeframe to suggest when the murderer could have taken the knives?"

* * *

 **==Nonstop Debate!==**

 _Weak points are in_ _italics_ _, break points are in both_ _ **bold and italics**_ _._

 _Ammunition loaded:_ _**Ai's Letter, Alarm, Coffee Cupcakes**_

 **==Begin!==**

Laurent: I am aware of the exact time Ryu died, that much is clear.

Laurent: But is there anything that can indicate _when the murderer could have taken the knives?_

Masashi: Madoka, you were holding onto them at the time, right? Did anyone borrow them from you?

Madoka: Not consciously, no. _The knives were still on the countertop_ when I passed out.

Hayana: Aw, now we're back to square one!

Kagaku: Silence, Hayana. If you have nothing better to contribute, do not clog up the system.

Kokushi: Speak for yourself...

Harper: Back to the point, guys. Does anyone have any other ideas?

Yumi: Was there something else that could have matched up with _**the time frame Ryu was murdered**_ , then?

Athena: There-

 **==Counter!==**

Ai: **That's a perfect cadence** **!** (Fired: **_Alarm_** )

* * *

 _ **ASSENT!**_

* * *

"You can switch between agreeing and disagreeing with a statement just by pressing the button to the side," Ai demonstrates for all of us to see. Satisfied that our curiosity was addressed, she moves on to explain her point. "Come to think of it, I'm sure we all heard an alarm sound out earlier today, right?"

Athena is first to respond, a mild irritation belaying her tone. "I was getting to that. The alarm went off earlier today, but it only played for two minutes out of its usual five. If I had to guess, the alarm shut off upon Ryu's death, which explains why it ended abruptly."

"That makes sense...Um, Mr. Peace, Monotee, may I ask if the alarm system works like how she said it?" asks Yamato.

"Sure it does." Peace waves a hand lazily. "Monotee picked up on Ryu's dying moments, and shut off the alarm when it was clear he had expired."

The Politician nods, before moving on, "Is there any evidence of anyone having been in the kitchen besides Madoka, then? They might be responsible for both death and injury, so it would help to determine who else could have gone into the kitchen before five-forty-five."

As soon as the words escaped his lips, Misaki shoots me a look. I believe I know what she means, and the shared nod confirms it.

 _I guess it is time to pull out THAT piece of evidence._

I cough to get the others' attention, before forcing down the quivering notes in my throat. "U-Uh… I think Misaki and I have something to share."

These words gain the interest of the class, but especially Bree, who perks up at the words. "Oh, do you now? Well, show us, the court is ruled by proof, after all. Let's see what you got."

* * *

 **==CHOOSE YOUR EVIDENCE!==**

Truth Bullet set: **Hair Charm (Personal changed to Public)**

Shotaro: **Maybe it could be this?**

* * *

Changing the settings prompts a beep from everyone else's device. "This is a picture of a hair clip that was in the vicinity of the crime scene, where Misaki found it. I'm pretty sure it belongs to someone because I've seen it being worn somewhere before, but I just don't know where—"

An audible gasp is heard as everyone's eyes turn to Iso. "H-hey...That's my missing hairclip!" He says, and sure enough, just by looking at the braids that fell onto the front of his shoulders, you could tell by the asymmetry that one of them was missing a clip. "Where and how did you guys find it?"

"W-Wait, what?!" I gasp, a look of disbelief on my face. "But we found it…"

"Because Ryu was holding it." Misaki finishes hesitantly, and the courtroom erupts into chaos.

 **Author's Postscript:**

 _Dun, dun, duuuuuuuuuun! And with that, the first trial chapter of EoD has been written. Also, welcome back our good old buddy Pen! He was a great help this chapter, so everyone, give him a round of applause! Anyways, we know this chapter was maybe a bit short, but we're setting up things for next chapter, because that's where the bulk of stuff is gonna go! I hope you all have a good day and I look forward to those theories I know you all love doing! Peace (Breaker) out!_ — _Mod Rev_

So um… It's been awhile guys, but I'm back on the team at the behest of both Rev and Hero! I'm the new (former?) guy in charge of editing, but I'll be helping write chapters from time to time! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and I'll be working my hardest to help all of these knuckleheads out…

— _Mod Pen_

 _I'd like to say that this chapter kinda started off a bit different. When I first designed the setting, the trial room was more high-tech, there were giant holographic screens and interfaces ala the Ace Attorney movie being written in, and there was a whole lot of immersive, game mechanic-explaining stuff that didn't make it into the final chapter. But hey, compromises need to be made at times, and the guys have already done me a huge favour by allowing me to play mind games you all two chapters back with Madoka's fake-out, so I figured wonder in simplicity was alright. Forgive me for being a massive tech geek, heh. Anyways, along with the theorizing, here's a question: Do you have a favourite character now that we're this far in? Cheers!_ — _SD_

 _Best of wishes!_ — _Rev, Pen, and SD_


	16. DOCS 2-8

***~ Shotaro ~ Courtroom**

 _When I was in elementary school, my teacher once marked me down for lying. She said that I was exaggerating when I claimed the schoolyard bully beat me up, stole my wallet, dunked my head in a toilet and kicked me in the nuts so hard I was singing soprano for a week._

 _To be fair, I was exaggerating a bit. He let me keep my wallet._

 _I wish I could tell you I was exaggerating when I said 'erupted into chaos'. Unfortunately, that was not the case—_

"Quiet! Quiet, I say!" Bree yells in an effort to regain some semblance of order in the courtroom, simultaneously breaking my train of thought with her loud and piercing voice. "Everyone, shush!"

In an instant, we all become silent at the loud command that had come from Bree. "Thank you. So, I guess we have some new evidence, though I have a question…Two, actually." Bree lets out a sigh and then stares at me, as if she is peering through my soul. "First off, why didn't you give this to us earlier? Withholding vital evidence is a serious offense."

Misaki and I exchange nervous glances, not wanting to invoke the wrath of the resident prosecutor. After a few moments of awkward silence, Misaki starts to speak up. "I-I… I, uh…" The young mimic is having a very hard time trying to convey her message. "I…didn't want to push the blame onto anyone..."

With that, Bree lets out another sigh, this one with a hint of annoyance in it. "Fine. It's a first-time offense, so I'll let it slide. Though, my second question is more pertinent." Bree turns over to Iso, raising an accusing finger. "Why was your hair pin found in Ryu's palm?!" You could almost see some tears forming in her eyes, but Bree suppresses them.

"I think the answer is fairly obvious." Athena finally decides to speak up. "The reason Iso's haircharm was found on the scene was because he was the one that killed Ryu."

"Wait… What?! You actually think I did it?" Iso screams out towards his accuser, who simply stood there unaffected by his outburst.

We all glanced around at each other. We all were sharing the same thought as Athena had said, but no one directly wanted to state it.

"This is crazy!" Iso exclaimed, both hands gripping the top of his podium. "You guys have my character all wrong! I wouldn't...I wouldn't!"

* * *

 **==Nonstop Debate!==**

 _Weak points are in_ _italics_ _, break points are in both_ _ **bold and italics**_ _._

 _Ammunition loaded:_ _ **Hair Charm, (Personal) Misaki's Account, Iso's Account**_

 **==Begin!==**

Athena: It's simple. Iso _killed Ryu._

Bree: The hair clip _wouldn't be there otherwise…_ Would it?

Iso: But you got it all wrong! _**I didn't go into the cafeteria since the morning!**_

Yumi: Well… Iso does _have the strength to kill Ryu…_

Iso: Show me proof that I went into the kitchen anywhere near that time!

 **==Counter!==**

Shotaro: **I'm sorry, but uh...that's not in tune!** (Fired: (Personal) Misaki's Account)

* * *

 _ **BREAK!**_

* * *

"WHAT?!" Iso screams as I fire Misaki's Account at his words.

"Yeah… According to Misaki, she both saw and heard a boy and girl leave the cafeteria after the alarm went off. Although, the voices were mixed up." I announce. Iso is taken aback in fear, his lighter blue left eye twitching.

"And there is only two people here who could be mistaken for that… Iso and Masashi." Kokushi comments, glancing at the two with a critical eye.

Masashi responded by rolling her eyes. "I'm aware I look suspicious," She starts off, giving the Tactician a pointed look. "But not as suspicious as Iso right now."

As the evidence was piling against him, Iso's breathing became shallow and he had a tense look on his normally cheerful face. He was panicking, but trying his hardest not to show it. Couldn't blame him for that, I know I wouldn't be so calm if I was in the same situation.

I actually felt bad for the guy. I know a lot is pointing to him, but still...Is this really right? Is Iso really the killer we're looking for?

"Stop."

We all turn our heads to the source of the all-too-familiar voice.

"Please…Just stop it." Madoka murmurs out, placing his head in his hands. "It's not Iso. He's not the murderer."

"Madoka? What's wrong?" Harper asked, giving him a concerned look.

Instead of answering, Madoka just stands there in silence, looking at us with regretful eyes. What he says next causes all of _our_ eyes to widen.

"I did it. I killed Ryuunosuke, even if I didn't mean to."

At this sudden announcement, everyone's breathing became shaky.

"...What?!" Both Yamato and Bree exclaim, looking absolutely perplexed. It's not just them; I can scarcely believe what he's saying either.

Madoka simply shakes his head, hiding his face from everyone. "You heard me." He states, scared but clear. "I killed Ryu."

"B-But I thought we already c-cleared you!" Gin stammers out.

"I guess you thought you did, but it just doesn't add up." Madoka retorted, his voice now cold and stern. He continues, picking his head back up to give us a hard look. "Think about it. Who else but me could have done it? I might not remember what actually happened, but I know enough to piece together the crime that I committed."

* * *

 **==Nonstop Debate!==**

 _Weak points are in_ _italics_ _, break points are in both_ _ **bold and italics**_ _._

 _Ammunition loaded:_ _**Set of Knives, Ai's Letter, Coffee Cupcakes**_

 **==Begin!==**

Madoka: First off, the Set of Knives. We already determined that I had taken them back to my room.

Madoka: But why would I take them back to my room? So no one else could use them.

Madoka: Second, Ai's Letter. No one knows who sent it, but think about it. Who else but the murderer would send that at a time like this?

Madoka: I did it to get rid of Ai long enough to kill Ryu, seeing as she attached by the hip to me.

Madoka: Ryu was also alone in the cafeteria when I walked in, so I had the perfect opportunity.

Madoka: After luring him into the kitchen, I tried to fight him. In the struggle, we knocked over the Glass Mixing Bowl.

Madoka: He then grabbed a frying pan from the cabinet and hit me with it, thus my concussion.

Madoka: However, before I passed out, I slit Ryu's throat with one of the knives.

Madoka: Finally, I moved his body to the fridge before I stumbled back and passed out.

Madoka: Oh, and one more thing. Why would I give you all cupcakes? To attempt to make up for what I have done.

 **==End!==**

* * *

 _ **NO AMMUNITION...FIRED?!**_

* * *

"N-No…" I mumble. It was a perfect argument. He covered all of the bases. Not a single break point, let alone weak point was able to be broken. Everyone looked around at each other, faces of grief evident. No one saw this coming. No one wanted to accept it.

"B-B-But… I thought… No… Why?" Harper lets out, having as much grief in her voice as I did.

"I.. I…" Yumi seemed to be clutching her head, as if the voices of everyone's consciousnesses were filling her own.

"Madoka… Why did you…?" Hayana asks, teary-eyed.

He shakes his head. "Who knows? Maybe Ryu came after me first, and I only retaliated. What matters is that I'm Ryu's mystery murderer."

Gin and Iso share an utterly confused gaze as they both are taken aback by the result of the debate.

"I thought we could trust you…" Yamato wheezes, as if the realization of what happened had hit him in the stomach.

Even Laurent mumbles out his hurt emotions. "And to think I was going to be coffee buddies with you…"

"Huh. Well, I guess if we have your confession…" spoke Athena, not fully finishing her sentence. She was one of the few people with emotionless faces amongst the group; the others being Kagaku and Kokushi, though even Kagaku looks disturbed.

"Cousin? Madoka darling? Did you really?" The quiver in Ai's voice was as plain as can be. She doesn't receive a response.

"Monotee…"

A voice with no distinctive source had let out, attempting to grab the attention of the white and black manatee, hints of anger seething with it.

"Yes, lovely?" replies the rejected Muppet.

The source of the voice, who had been looking down the entire time, her hat shrouding her eyes, flared her head up and stared at the AI.

"I call for the vote. Now. We have his confession, the confession of killing Ryu. I want to end this." Bree seethes from her teeth, anger burning in her eyes. "As much as it pains us all to do this, we must convict."

With the aura she was giving off, you could sense that she was ready to pounce on someone, and it didn't look like one of us.

"Huehuehuehuehue! I guess we have our culprit lovelies! I think it's time to-" Monotee started.

 _ **BANG!**_

To my immediate right, someone slams their fist on their desk, causing me to jump slightly to the left. I stay away to the left as I see who it is.

This is a whole new expression for her; gone is the easygoing grin, pleasant demeanour and side-eye glance. Instead, a hard look has crossed her face, which causes me to back off to the left even further.

"You disgust me, Bree… You're willing to throw away the life of the one man who deserves this the least just so you can follow through with your sick notions of justice and retribution…"

For the first time since I've met her, the Super High School Fencer looks absolutely _livid_. "Monotee, how _dare_ you set him up to die! And the rest of you, how dare _you_ stand by and let this happen to him! Fie, it falls to me yet again to do what is right, because I will _not_ let you punish Madoka unfairly, or my name isn't Masashi Hayabusa!"

We all stood in a stunned silence at Masashi's declaration. Madoka looked especially baffled. "Masashi, what are you doing? I already confessed!"

The fencer simply shook her head no. "You're innocent, Madoka. I know you are!" Her attention then shifted from him to the rest of us, sending a glare to everyone. "And I'm going to prove it."

At that, he lets out a sigh of exasperation. "Why do you insist on making this difficult...Fine. If it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you'll get."

As soon as he said that, something caught my eye on the projector screen. It had an entirely new layout, with pictures of Madoka and Masashi holding swords upon it. I guess I wasn't the only one who noticed as the others slowly turned towards the screen to marvel at it.

* * *

 **==Crossed Sword!==**

 _==/== indicates a hit!_

 _Usable swords:_ **Alarm, Coffee Cupcakes**

 **==Begin!==**

Madoka: I already told you ==/== I'm the one who killed Ryu!

Madoka: I took the knives to make sure ==/== no one else could get to them.

Madoka: And used one ==/== to slit Ryu's throat!

 **Progression!**

Masashi: I don't believe it ==/== for a minute!

Masashi: How the actual hell could you slit his throat ==/== before passing out?

Madoka: It was pure desperation ==/== of a murderer!

Madoka: Give it up Masashi ==/== it's over!

Madoka: **There is nothing that proves ==/== that I didn't do it!**

Masashi: **Time to skewer that argument straight through!** (Chosen Sword: **Alarm** )

* * *

 _ **BREAK!**_

* * *

"How the-?" Is all Madoka can let out before Masashi interrupts him once more.

"I know that you weren't the one that did it because you were the one that set off the alarm!" Masashi stammers out.

"We've known for awhile that I triggered the alarm, what else is there to prove with that?" Madoka yells, sounding deadset on his confession.

"Because the alarms shut off after the murder happens, so there is no way you could have done it!" Masashi yells out, confidence brimming in her voice. "As Ai said, the alarm played out two minutes instead of the usual five. If you had really slit his throat before you passed out, then the alarm wouldn't have played for that long or at all. A slit throat is a quick death!"

Madoka just stands there, baffled as to what she was saying. For the rest of us though, you could have seen the gears turning within our heads.

 _...She does realize what she just said, right?_

Everyone continues to stare at Masashi, giving her some funny looks. Slowly, but surely, she recognizes the silence and glances around at us. "Uh… What's wrong, guys…?"

Unlike previous times, I actually facepalm.

 _She's clueless…._

"Masashi? You know what you just said… Right?" Kokushi conveys to her, trying to let her brain work on its own.

"No, wha-" After a second, the snap of realization hits Masashi. "Oh… _Oh shit_." And it all snowballs from there.

 **Author's Postscript:**

 _WE FINALLY DID IT, PLEASE DON'T KILL US. I'll be honest, this took a long ass time, when it really shouldn't have. I am really sorry about the wait, I do hope you enjoy this chapter. Just, a lot stuff happened in between updates, so yeah. Also, speaking of which, I think it is time for some SYOC story shoutouts! These are all SYOCs by our friends. First off, after the long awaited return,_ _ **Safe Haven**_ _by Captain Quackin has updated! Yay! Second, again after a little bit of waiting, Mod SD and Mod Lime's story,_ _ **A Flight of Fancy Despair**_ _, has also updated. Speaking of those two, they also made their own SYOCs. SD made the SYOC_ _ **Double or Nothing**_ _, while Lime made_ _ **Only The Mad**_ _. Go check them all out! With that, I hope you have a nice day! - Rev_

 _Woo. We finally got the chapter out! *Throws confetti* And I finally did something for a change. I'm happy :3 And yes, go check out those SYOCs. They are all amazing stories written by amazing people. You won't regret it. As for this chapter, is the truth becoming clearer, 0r are we going to pull another trick on our readers? Let us know what you think! I hope you all have a great day as well! - Hero_

 _Truthfully speaking, I personally don't like the outcome of this trial. The other mods know it, and we've spent the better part of the start of this month hotly debating whether we were going with our original plan, or to shift the role of the murderer to someone I felt was much better suited for it after we wrote the investigation. As such, I wasn't involved with this chapter at all aside from Masashi's outburst in the middle, so...yeah. Still, I'm pretty sure this hasn't been an easy case for you all to follow, but there's gonna be one last twist before we reach the conclusion. I do wonder what it is… - SD_

 _Happy reading! ~ Mods Rev, Hero and SD_


	17. DOCS 2-9

"Oh… _Oh shit._ " Masashi said aloud, all of our eyes trained on her.

"Hey Monotee, just a quick question…?" Kokushi turns away to look over at the rejected Muppet with a look of skepticism. "When exactly does the motive loose effect?"

Everyone turned their heads to Monotee, curious to hear the answer.

Our oh so "lovable" host replied by clapping his flippers together, showing off a joyous expression. "Immediately when someone dies!"

"And did we ever learn about that rule before hand?" Kokushi asks once more before turning his attention back to the fencer who was sweating bullets.

"Nope! Only the murderer would know that!"

 _Is Monotee… Smiling?_

Now everyone's eyes were back on Masashi, who was not only drenched in a cold sweat, but was now sporting a nervous smile as well. "H-Hehe, hey everyone… Wh-What about the hairpin..?"

Iso perked up at the mention of that. "I remember I lost it in the cafeteria that morning! That doesn't mean anything." He retorted, shooting daggers at his accuser.

A small annoyed groan escaped from Masashi after hearing that. It was obvious by now she was just trying to find any way to take the suspicion off of her. Even if it meant throwing someone else under the bus.

Some of us had faces of scorn, some disbelief, some neutral, though overall the feeling was tense. Even Madoka had a look of dread on his face.

"So this is why you stood up for me…" Madoka mumbled, sounding distant as he spoke. "Because you knew I didn't do it…"

"W-Wait! So what if I knew that! There is more evidence against Iso!" Masashi screeched out, her voice slightly trembling.

As if her words triggered something, the projector screen slowly began fading to black before revealing a picture of an aggravated Masashi. Surrounding her were six white shields, each stylishly decorated with what appeared to be fencing swords. What looked to be some sort of health bar appeared above her head on screen and the words "Six Shields Remaining!" below it.

 _The truth's been revealed… Yet she isn't giving up. This is the final stretch._

I clear my throat before turning to face Masashi. Despite my reluctance, I stared at her straight in the eyes, letting her know I was not going to back down. "Masashi… If you aren't going to give up… Then I guess I will try too."

* * *

 **==Panic Talk Action!==**

 **([+])([+])([+]) MASASHI HAYABUSA ([+])([+])([+])**

Six shields remaining!

…

 **([+])([+])([+])([+])([+])([+])**

 **([Why are you accusing me?!])**

 _ **[Because you are the only one who knew.]**_

 _ **Crack!**_

Shield Fracture! Six Remaining!

 **...**

 **([+])([+])([+])([+])([+])([-/-])**

 **([What about Iso's hairpin?!])**

 _ **[You could have easily taken that when you went to the kitchen.]**_

 _ **Break!**_

Shield Break! Five Remaining!

 **...**

 **([+])([+])([+])([+])([+])([==/==])**

 **([How about the letter?!])**

 _ **[That could be solved with a handwriting test!]**_

 _ **Break!**_

Shield Break! Four Remaining!

 **...**

 **([==/==])([+])([+])([+])([+])([==/==])**

 **([Misaki said Iso could have snuck in!])**

 _ **[Her account also made it possible for you to sneak in.]**_

 _ **Break!**_

Shield Break! Three Remaining!

…

 **Tempo Up!**

 **([==/==])([+])([+])([+])([==/==])([==/==])**

 **([The knives?!])**

 _ **[We already know about those!]**_

 _ **Break!**_

Shield Break! Two Remaining!

…

 **([==/==])([==/==])([+])([+])([==/==])([==/==])**

 **([Why are you being mean to everyone here?!])**

 _ **[I'm just trying to find the truth!]**_

 _ **Break!**_

Shield Break! One Remaining!

…

 **([==/==])([==/==])([+])([==/==])([==/==])([==/==])**

 **([I didn't do it!])**

 _ **[Stop it Masashi! You are being desperate!]**_

 _ **Break!**_

Shield Break! None Remaining!

…

 **([==/==])([==/==])([==/==])([==/==])([==/==])([==/==])**

 **([Why'd I kill Ryu anyways?!])**

* * *

 _ **To escape!**_

Shotaro: **Just give it up Masashi!**

* * *

 _ **BREAK!**_

* * *

"You obviously don't have any way to save yourself here… Just give it up already. Please." I say to her with the utmost sincerity, hearing a worried tone in my own voice.

Despite pushing this so much, I didn't want to do this.

As the heat of our argument began to cool off, I noticed that everyone's full attention was on us. They all looked utterly shocked, not only because of what the argument led to, but most likely because they had never seen me so assertive. I was honestly quite shocked myself.

"I-I... " Masashi mumbles out, looking like she was about to burst out crying. Before she could, she hung her head low, hiding her face. A few second pass. All in one moment, Masashi swings her head up and gets in my face, tears peeking out of the corner of her eyes. "Then explain how I did it!"

A bit taken aback by the sudden closeness, I inch myself a foot or two away from her. "Fine… I guess I can piece this together."

In the corner of my eye, I see Kokushi give me a nod and a smug look that says "You got this man.".

 _Guess I really do have to be the one to do this… Doesn't anyone want to take their turn now?_

Letting out a sigh, I gather whatever courage I have and muster up my voice.

The projector screen changed into what looked like some kind of story board. Pieces of art filled up each slot, piecing together what seemed to have happened.

* * *

 **==Climax Interface!==**

 **Act 1:**

:The killer had the intentions of picking off someone easy, so who else, but Madoka would be a good choice?

:The killer wrote a letter to Ai to meet up with them in the lounge, giving enough time to get Madoka alone.

:The killer then snuck into the kitchen and hid in one of the cabinets.

 **Act 2:**

:The killer realized that there were no knives left due to Madoka taking them for cleaning, so they grabbed a frying pan instead.

:Madoka enters into the kitchen and starts cooking, oblivious to another presence hidden in the room.

:As quiet as a mouse, the killer steps out of the cabinet with the frying pan in hand.

 **Act 3:**

:With Madoka distracted, the killer slammed Madoka on the head with the frying pan, but due to their hesitance, they don't swing again.

:With Madoka being out cold, he drops the glass mixing bowl, causing it to shatter.

:The alarm sounds off due to Madoka not being awake.

 **Act 4:**

:Before the killer can do anything, Ryu starts to enter into the room because of the crashing noise of the bowl, the killer being forced to hide.

:When walking into the kitchen, he sees Madoka passed out on the floor, but assumes he only fell asleep.

:Ryu then leans down to try to pick up Madoka to go take him to get medicine or something most likely to keep him awake.

 **Act 5:**

:With a given opportunity, the killer reveals themselves with the knife.

:The killer quickly goes behind Ryu and slits his throat, blood now spraying onto Madoka's head.

:The alarm then stopped earlier than usual due to someone having died.

 **Act 6:**

:With the little amount of time they had, the killer started to rearrange the crime scene. They start by moving Ryu's body against the fridge, along with the knife.

:Next, they hide Madoka's body into the cabinet they hid in so they can paint it as Madoka killed Ryu in self defense. They also stick the frying pan in there too.

:To make sure there wasn't any blood visible, the killer rolled up their sleeves and wiped off any blood on their skin.

 **Act 7:**

:With the crime scene all cleaned up, the killer leaves the kitchen to go get some rest most likely.

:On the way back, Misaki saw both the killer and Iso pass by each other, mistaking them for their genders and voices.

:Later that day, Madoka woke up from being unconscious and started to bang on the kitchen door, where we all found him and Ryu's body.

* * *

Shotaro: Now it all makes sense…

Shotaro: The reason why Madoka wasn't the one who died and why Misaki got confused with Iso and the killer…

Shotaro: It's because it was you! **Masashi Hayabusa**!

* * *

"Grr…!" Masashi, giving me a murderous look, let out a low growl once I finished. This didn't last long, as she soon finally broke down, bursting into tears.

A picture of me pointing an accusing finger at a silhouette covering its face appeared on screen. The silhouette then gained color, revealing itself to be none other than Masashi.

"G-God.. Damn it…" Masashi got out past her sniffling and tears. Despite what she had done, we all looked at her in worry. Even though she had killed someone, she was still human. She was still our friend.

After a few moments of watching her cry, I placed a comforting hand on Masashi's shoulder. "Masashi… It's okay. We know you didn't want to…" I said, trying to give her reassurance.

"T-Toku… I'm sorry." Masashi says as she hugs me, digging her wet face into me.

I slowly lean in to return the hug and pat her on the back. "It's okay Masashi… I forgive you. And it wasn't your fault either way." I then glanced up and looked towards Monotee. He had a look of utter joy that made my blood boil. My glance quickly turned into a glare, as I looked him straight in his lifeless eyes. "It's because of you. You were the one who brought us here!" I yelled at the vile thing.

Monotee merely waves me off in modesty, as if I had given him a compliment. "Huehuehuehuehue! Indeed it is, but you also forgot this bozo helped out with that part too you know?" Monotee then waves a flipper as the screen projector showed us a video feed of nervous looking Peace waving at us, showing off a forced smile.

"H-Hey there guys… H-How's it going?" This seemed off. The Peace I knew (reluctantly I might add) seemed to love having all eyes on him regardless of whatever he was doing. He was a people person, a crowd pleaser if you will. The Peace I see right now is the complete opposite. He looks as if he would shatter if you looked at him wrong.

"Alright!" Monotee yells out, grabbing our attention once again. "Do you know what time it is? It's voting time! If you check your IDs, then you will see an option that says "Vote" on there! That is where you get to pick who you think the murderer is."

Sure enough when I pull out my ID, there is the button. After pressing it, a list of names and faces appear on the screen that you can scroll through.

"Now it is time to place your votes! Who will you vote? Will you vote correctly and choose the blackened, or vote terribly wrong?" The monochromatic manatee says in a disturbingly cheery voice, making me shudder.

 _Let's just finish this…_

With Masashi still hugging me, I stare at her icon. I don't want to press it, but I know I have to. Slowly, I let my finger tap her button.

Once it appears everyone voted, Masashi let go of me and gave me a small smile. She doesn't say it, but I swear the look she was giving me was saying "Thank you".

On screen, the face of a nervous Peace disappeared and was then replaced with a golden slot machine. The lever on its left side was pulled and then pictures of each of our faces spun by.

* * *

 **Vote**

 ***whirr***

 ***whirr***

 ***whirr***

 ***brrk-ding-ding-ding***

…

 _ **Masashi Hayabusa**_

…

 **Guilty!**

* * *

From seemingly out of nowhere, confetti appeared, fluttering down upon us. "You are correct! The murderer of Ryuunosuke Fukuzawa was none other than Masashi Hayabusa, the Super High School Fencer!" Monotee cheered, clapping his flippers together excitedly. "Now it is time for punishment!" He says in a noticeably more malicious voice, his red eye flashing bright.

"What?" Masashi asked in a weak, yet worried tone. "P-Punishment…? Since when was there a punishment?"

 _What happened next made all of us utterly terrified. Even more so than we already were…_

 _This was true despair._

 **Author's Postscript:**

 _Dear lord, this is long overdue. I will just list off the laundry list of what all happened for me. I finally finished school for the year so that opens up my schedule a bit, we learned that a friend we thought was dead wasn't actually dead and woke up from a coma, so we all celebrated, and am right now currently on vacation in Florida. I am really sorry I just disappeared from all of my stories, but I am back now. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I wrote it on the night before we left to go on vacation and on the way there XD. Now I have a question for you all. Multiple ones actually. Did you expect them being the true culprit? Are you happy to see this come back? What are your theories for what is happening soon in the story, or just theories for the entirety of the story? I would love to hear all of you answers!_

 _Have a great day and a happy summer everyone! ~Mod Rev_


	18. The End

Hi everyone, this is Mod Rev here.

You all have been expecting these words for quite some time now, and I couldn't leave you in the dark guessing anymore.

Embassy of Despair is officially discontinued.

But do not fret my friends, this story is far from gone, It will forever be in our hearts, its mysteries to be enjoyed.

However, I am leaving you with where this story was. I am not just stopping, oh no, I am giving you all every detail we planned for this story.

We planned out every minor thing, it's just when it came to the writing itself, we couldn't continue for personal reasons.

To begin, let's talk about the first chapter.

We all knew Masashi was the killer, we just couldn't write the execution. The execution was going to be something along the lines of her being trapped and swallowed by a tidal wave.

I am going to be honest, Masashi was one of my favorite characters to write.

The thing that was planned after every chapter though was an intermission, which would consist of little bonuses. Be it answering questions, writing side stories, etc.

One of these bonuses was a segment with a title you might be familiar with, called the "Talking Dead". This segment was going to be used for the character that died that chapter to interact with each other in death, and being asked questions.

Ryu and Masashi's was actually going to be very forgiving as they both realized neither of them deserved it.

For the next chapter, the victim was going to be Misaki the Mimic. The reason why she was killed is because the person she was trying to help was having a panic attack and was slowly, but surely going insane, which we saw evidence of all the way back in the beginning.

As you could guess, the killer for chapter two would have been Gin.

Gin has a very special place in my heart. He was originally a duo character, and the weaker half of the duo mind you, but we got just him and we made him into what he is today. Hero and I still think back on what we had planned for him and he is easily, at least Hero and I's, third favorite character.

His execution was going to consist of going down a runway and then being shot by his sister during the time the paparazzi took photos.

Misaki and Gin's Talking Dead session was mostly going to consist of them hugging and crying, while continually apologizing.

Now onto chapter three, the chapter literally everyone dreads. The motive this time around was that the killer can escape with someone else of their choosing.

That motive makes it seem really obvious right? Everyone would guess either Kokushi, or Yumi would murder to escape with each other. Well…. You are half right. Kokushi attempted to go kill Hayana, but Kagaku intercepted him, not allowing him to lay a finger on her.

So in order to protect Hayana, Kagaku, with much regret, had to kill Kokushi.

This event is what would cause Yumi to go into a deep sorrow as she had just lost her brother. Let's be honest, who wouldn't be sad?

When it came to the trial, it would have taken awhile, but They would finally pin it all o Kagaku, who was about to accept his fate when all of a sudden, Hayana busted into the scene, yelled "YOU GOT THAT WRONG!" and tried to defend him. Of course that doesn't last long as everyone was able to shut down her arguments with ease. This resulted in Kagaku being found guilty, with Hayana trying to vote herself as the guilty party to save him.

Kagaku's execution was going to involve him being turned to dust by a laser beam firing from a cyborg.

The Talking Dead session that was going to take place was Kokushi being angry, but he still said sorry. The two respect each other, but neither is peaceful.

There was also going to be another bonus here that was going to be what would happen if Kagaku and Hayana were both the guilty party, resulting in an execution I like to call "The Shotgun Wedding".

Moving onto chapter four…. This was a depressing chapter. At this point, the once formal and polite Yamato had lost all of his composure and had gone unhinged. This moment of insanity is what caused him to be killed by a man of the name of Iso…. Or rather…. Kuro?

Yes, you heard that right, Kuro. Kuro is Iso's alternate personality who is known as the SHSL Vigilante. Kuro killed Yamato so that way he wouldn't go harm anyone else. Also, all those times Iso goes to throw up? Yeah, that is what triggers Kuro to appear. Now you know that answer.

We don't have Iso's execution recorded anywhere, so sadly we can't provide you with that information.

Their Talking Dead session would have been Yamato apologizing a lot and saying how he shouldn't have acted the way he should, with Iso and Kuro both respecting this.

Now we are in the final normal chapter of the story, being chapter five, but it was far from ordinary. In this section was… Well I I don't even know what else to say other than the word, and pardon my French, "a clusterfuck". There were so many things going in this chapter that even though we planned it out for so long, it is still hard to remember them all. As a base summary though, there were three deaths.

The first death was supposed to be Madoka. Although, his death was not a murder. Yet, it also wasn't a suicide… It was a death from disease, or rather, he died from his leukemia. Madoka has been diagnosed with leukemia for quite some time now and knew his time was running short. It is at this point though, that it due him in. However, before his passing moments, he set up his inside knowledge that he had gained. He had found the room where all of the dead students remains were kept, and he wrote a note on each one of their graves. The final note was on his own gave though. On it, he wrote the message that was an apology to everyone for his passing, but also was a note giving them a hint to who the MM was. And the postscript message on it was supposed to be addressed to the MM directly, saying that their days were numbered.

The second death was supposed to be Harper, having died from being trapped inside of the walk in freezer. The students would have found her blue tinted and lifeless body laying against the door, no pulse remaining.

The one who killed her?

None other than the "pianist" Ai. WHy is that in quotes you might wonder?

Because Ai was never a pianist at all.

Ai was actually the SHSL Liar. She is a wanted criminal who exists only to enjoy the chase, but eventually she was caught after a large scale robbery. She was sent to Hope's Peak as her parole, but the catch is that she had to go under the alias of the SHSL Pianist. Of course, her real talent is a liar for she was able to escape the police for so long with her well crafted lies.

Ai's breakdown would have been her finally admitting her real talent, and thus showing off her real personality. Her real personality is that of a cold, heartless person who doesn't care about others, only wanting whatever is best for her. She had no problems causing the death of Harper to try to escape, and wasn't sad about any of the others' deaths either.

Her execution was supposed to be called "No Strings Attached", where she would be trapped inside of a giant piano, its strings having tangled around her. Every time the piano is played, the strings pull her and eventually she would be torn apart.

Now I am going to talk about the final chapter, and what all was to happen.

This chapter of course was the MM chapter, and you know what that means. Extra mystery.

The victim this time around was Athena, and to be frank, no one minds. She was probably our most hilarious death having died from literally falling down the stairs.

Now the question is: Why would the MM decide to kill her?

Because she was the second half of the MM's herself.

You see, Athena, although not the head MM, was planning to betray Laurent, who is the true MM of this game.

Laurent formed this game not to spread despair, but to perform social experiments, which is how he gets creativity for his poetry. He hired on Athena to help him manage the game, and tricked Peace into thinking he was hosting a reality show to add more variety. Athena however was going to overtake Laurent and kill him so she can use this game to spread despair across the world once again. Of course, Laurent learned her plan and killed her before she got the chance.

In this chapter, Peace would be punished for having set up a trap that was meant to be dysfunctional in chapter five, which Laurent only found out about because he overheard Peace and Toku talking about it. However, Peace would not be killed, for the true ending that is. In fact he comes back and provides the definitive evidence to condemn Laurent and save everyone.

You heard me right, there are multiple endings to this story. Three to be exact.

The first ending is the true ending, where they complete the MM trial, execute Laurent (whose execution is literally falling from the basement floor of the embassy, to the top, and all the way back down again, killing him on impact), and Peace is able to discover the escape switch that Athena hid, thus allowing everyone else to leave.

The second ending is caused from a darker mood, being that they complete the MM trial, but can't find the remote escape switch. Peace is the only one who knew where it was and Athena had hidden differently than normal, thus meaning they can't escape. This leads to two different endings. One being either they live the rest of their lives there, or they all decide to either kill themselves to escape their misery.

The final route is the worst possible one, being where Peace actually died from his punishment, and couldn't deliver the decisive evidence/couldn't find the escape switch, or he killed himself after his punishment. This means the group would have lost the MM trial, and Laurent would have just killed them all. He didn't want to bother with them at that point.

Before we go into the true ending's results, let's talk about the fun thing in this story: Ships.

The canon ships that would have happened in this story were Kagaku x Hayana, Bree x Peace, Madoka x Harper, and Toku x Yumi.

On a headcanon level, both Hero and I ship Poku (Toku x Peace) all the way and it is a still our favorite ship to this day.

Focusing back on the true ending, everyone who has survived has changed a lot.

Toku has become more down to earth and in tune with how cruel the world really is, but he is still trying to make the most out of life. Due to him stepping up when it was needed, he has become someone everyone could trust and appreciate. His social skills have improved tremendously, mostly due to his friendship with Peace and the encouragement he got from Yumi. He is still unsure about the future he and his friends will face, but he does know that whatever comes next for them, they'll be able to endure it together.

Hayana's preppy and cheery attitude has completely changed. Now having lost her lover and friends, she has become a more hardened person. She has definitely grown up the most out of the cast, choosing to live her life for both her friends and for her late lover. She still believes in love and, despite it ending in tragedy, can live contently knowing that she found her true love. The love she focuses know is the love she has for her friends, vowing to do anything to help them.

Bree…. Bree is not even Bree at this point. She is an empty shell of her former self, her increasing insanity and emotional discord consuming her. The thing that is keeping her from having done anything rash by this point has been Peace, who is trying to get her back to her normal self. He wants her to be happy again.

Speaking of Peace, we finally have learned about his true colors. He never wanted to do any of this, he just wanted to be a star. He feels like he has to carry the blame for what happened now, as he was the one who was broadcasted to the world. He knows he is going to have to deal with the consequences, and he doesn't want to share that pain with anyone else. He wants to move on with his head held high, trying to support his friends and make things right.

Finally, we have Yumi. Despite having experienced the pain of both losing her brother and dealing with the emotional and mental strain of everything that's happened, Yumi has remained the same gentle, caring girl we all know. She's learned to become stronger as well, choosing to take action instead of letting things run their course. Her and Toku are still going strong, supporting each other in whatever decision the other makes.

Although the survivors know things can't be undone, they still choose to look at the world in hopeful eyes. They don't want to live in pain or despair, they want to make the world a place where everyone can live in peace. For the sake of everyone who had died in the game, they achieve this dream together.

That is the basic summary of what was going to happen. There of course were other bonus stories that were going to happen, like the antics of Toku having a dick drawn on his forehead and went on a wild goose chase to punish Peace, we had something involving coffee I think between Madoka and Laurent? We even had a mini crossover with A Flight of Fancy Despair (AFoFD for short) where Gin finds his sister, who in that game is known as Jackie. There was a lot of funny things planned.

Again, I apologize for having to end what would have been a great story, but with certain issues happening, we just couldn't force ourselves to go on further with this.

I just want you all to know that we as writers loved all of you and your positive comments on the story. We are all glad that we could make some of your days brighter.

I hope you all have a wonderful day.

Peace (Breaker) out.

P.S.

If you ever want to find us, feel free to message us on here, or go to our Tumblrs, which are listed below.

Rev - mirorbdangamachine

Hero - simplyweird85

SD - sdeviation

Lime - limescriminals

Makina - murai-maquina


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